2024-2025 Research Scholars
We are extremely proud of each of our LSAMP Research Scholars, and would like to share their success! LSAMP Research Scholars have distinguished themselves in many ways: through their academic achievements, research experiences, service to their campuses and communities, and through their compelling personal stories.
Aby Melgar
Abby Melgar is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Geology at California State University, Fullerton. This will be her first year involved in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) as an LSAMP scholar. Abby has been working under Dr. Vali Memeti, studying ancient magma plumbing systems of the Tuolumne Intrusive Complex (TIC) and the Jackass Lakes pluton (JLP) since Spring of 2024. Her research focuses on the petrographic analysis of various rock samples from both the TIC and the JLP, using a petrographic microscope to determine whether reheating or "defrosting" textures have occurred. These findings will enhance our understanding of how processes within the magma chamber influence volcanic eruptions. As an LSAMP research scholar, Abby can primarily focus on her research, with the aim of eventually publishing the results in an academic journal, aided by her advisor. After graduation, Abby hopes to pursue a Master’s in volcanology or igneous petrology and have a career working with active volcanoes.
Alex Jun
Alex is a senior Mathematics major with a concentration in Probability and Statistics and minors in Computer Science and Business Administration at California State University, Fullerton. Under Dr. Abdoli, Alex conducts Alzheimer's research utilizing the updated Uniform Data Set (UDS) from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to improve future research capabilities. He also works under Dr. Jaynes, using the All of Us Research Workbench to investigate the relationship between diabetes and mental health through statistical approaches. Lastly, Alex collaborates with Dr. Mamudu to study late-stage lung cancer diagnoses in Asian populations, focusing on survival analysis and identifying contributing factors. Alex aims to pursue a PhD in Statistics or Data Science and ultimately become a data scientist or researcher, contributing to advancements in health science.
Dominic Milla
Dominic Milla is a senior undergraduate majoring in Biochemistry at California State University, Fullerton. This is his first year as an LSAMP research scholar. He is modeling the structure and electronic properties of hole defects in 2D-B2C under Dr. Michael Groves. Dominic uses a neural network (AI) trained through an evolutionary algorithm as a tool to enhance the speed of this research. The main goal of this research is to establish possible applications for B2C in catalysis and beyond. Dominic aspires toward a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and his goal is to perform research that connects his undergraduate experiences to biochemistry.
Katherine Lee
Katherine Lee is a senior biochemistry major focusing on structural chemistry and biotechnology at California State University, Fullerton. She is currently working with Dr. Rasche as an LSAMP Research Scholar and with Dr. Childers as an undergraduate researcher. Under Dr. Rasche's guidance, Katherine's project studies crystallography to determine the structure of the ExoR protein, which plays a key role in regulating nitrogen fixation. Last year, she obtained a crystal, but it was too small to determine its structure. She is now concentrating on obtaining larger, high-purity, high-concentration protein samples using various methods. Katherine's career goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical research, with a focus on cancer and immunology, to improve cancer treatment for patients.
Kristine Vergara
Kristine Vergara is a senior Computer Engineering student at CSUF. As a first-generation Hispanic woman, she is passionate about breaking barriers in STEM. Kristine’s research focuses on aging science, studying how stress affects older adults using EEG data, MATLAB, and machine learning algorithms. She has been conducting this research under the mentorship of Dr.Kiran George as part of her work with the Brain Computer Interface Lab (BCI). Her findings aim to improve our understanding of stress and its impact on brain activity in older populations. Kristine’s career goals include pursuing a master’s degree in computer engineering, where she hopes to continue bridging technology and human health while inspiring others to overcome challenges in STEM related fields.
Irene Luu
Irene is an undergraduate senior majoring in Biological Science with a minor in Criminal Justice. This is her second year in the LSAMP program, but her first year as a Research Scholar. She is currently conducting research with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) isolates under Dr. Maria Soledad Ramirez. CRAB isolates have become a serious threat to public health because treatment options have become limited. Her project's main goal is to discover more effective treatments that will help combat CRAB. This project is centered around the combination of antibiotics that is hypothesized to create a synergistic effect to help solve this issue. The combination consists of a beta-lactam antibiotic along with a beta-lactam inhibitor. Before research, Irene's initial goal was to attend medical school in hopes of becoming a forensic pathologist. After conducting research, she has decided to get her master's and potentially pursue a Ph.D.
Hooriya Muhammad
Hooriya Muhammad is a junior Computer Science major at California State University, Fullerton. Under the mentorship of Professor Poynor, she conducts research in statistical modeling, focusing on time-to-tumor progression and bivariate survival analysis. Her work applies advanced probabilistic models, such as the folded normal distribution, to analyze time-to-treatment variables and explore correlation structures in medical data. Through this research, Hooriya aims to contribute to improving predictive analytics in healthcare, particularly in treatment response evaluation.
Abel Daniel
Abel Daniel is a senior undergraduate majoring in Computer Science at California State University Fullerton. It is his second year as a researcher and as an LSAMP Scholar. Abel is working under Dr. Anand Panangadan. Abel’s previous research involves using machine learning and natural language processing to detect food-related text on social media platforms to understand the habits of individuals. Presented at SCCUR, was a Student Project EXPO Finalist, and received an NSM award. Abel’s current research is collaborating on a device that would use sensor measurements with machine learning to detect movement at home for the safety of the elderly.
Nora Mahmoud
Nora is a junior undergraduate Biological Science major at California State University, Fullerton, with minors in Aging Science and Criminal Justice. She studies evolution and genomics under Dr. Shahrestani in the EAGR lab. As a part of the developmental selection team, Nora’s research focuses on the development of Drosophila melanogaster and how host microbes affect traits influenced by the microbiota (TIM) and the host genetic control of the microbiota (GCM). This is accomplished through the manipulation of development time and supplementation with acetic acid bacteria and will allow us to better understand the evolutionary mechanisms acting on development. Nora’s career goals include medical school, utilizing her knowledge in biology and aging to research disease and genetics in geriatric populations.
