The STEM Ambassador Program began in 2016 as a training program for a small cohort of University of Utah scientists. Since then, we have grown to work with over 170 graduate students, post-docs, faculty, staff, and undergraduate students. Scroll down to learn about the scientists who have participated. Contact us if you would like to reach out to a STEM Ambassador.
Note that many Ambassador bios were uploaded when the Ambassador joined the program and may not be current.
Martina Krisztina Hollearn is a first-year PhD student in the INMAN lab. She was born and raised in Hungary, then moved to California and got her BA in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach. After graduating, she was a junior research specialist in the Translational Neuroscience Laboratory at University of California, Irvine, led by Dr. Michael Yassa. There she was involved with several neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies using PET and MRI scans. The work she did consisted of studies about memory, aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, Down Syndrome models of Alzheimer’s Disease, and cognitive decline resiliency in adults over 90 years old. In graduate school at the U, Martina investigates how amygdala stimulation enhances episodic memory precision and how long this effect lasts. Additionally, she is involved in a real-world navigation project with drug-resistant epilepsy patients with implanted RNS systems that, in part, aims to investigate the neurophysiological signatures of event boundaries. Outside of the lab, Martina engages in painting, pottery, DJing, learning piano, hiking, reading fiction thrillers to her cat, and experimenting with new recipes. As a multilingual person, one of Martina’s passions is to be an efficient science translator between Hungarian and English.
Joshua Horns works at the University of Utah where he uses state-of-the-art technology to track small birds as they undergo their yearly migrations. Birds are invaluable for maintaining health ecosystems and even for maintaining healthy humans! However their massive migratory treks are fraught with danger. Joshua’s research attempts to identify ways that we as people can help these birds complete their incredible journeys.
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Yusuf Jameel works with Dr. Gabe Bowen at the University of Utah where he studies urban and natural waterways. He has been analyzing the connections between human population, climate, water extraction, water use, and water use impacts, in regions of climatic aridity and extensive land-use change, such as rapidly urbanizing areas across the western United States of America (USA).
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When people ask Ann what her dream job would be, her answer is always the same: making one-of-a-kind clothes. She loves the creativity and artistry that pours out of her when designing and sew clothing. She loves having stacks of beautiful fabrics to run her hands over and feast her eyes on. She is a sewist of 30 years, an Etsy shop purveyor of 6 years, and a newly minted fabric designer. And yet, Ann is a scientist at heart and by profession. She loves scientific inquiry, academics, and discourse. Talk about microbes and botany and physics and ethics, and she simply swoons. She has degrees in biology, chemistry, and public health, and her career is making sure people who volunteer to be in research studies are as safe and respected as possible (Director of the University of Utah IRB & Human Research Protection Program). So she is complex and she loves it.
Gabrielle Kardon works at the University of Utah where she studies studies how muscle develops, regenerates, ages, and evolves. Her lab focuses on muscle stem cells because they are the source of all muscle. They also focus on the muscle connective tissue because it provides the niche for muscle stem cells and is critical for muscle form and function.
They study how interactions between muscle stem cells and the connective tissue orchestrate development of limb muscles and the diaphragm, how they regulate muscle regeneration and aging, how they can lead to birth defects and fibrosis, and how they shape the evolution of the musculoskeletal system.
This work has lead Gabrielle and her lab to interact extensively with patients with the common birth defect, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernias, as well as their families.
For more about her lab, see http://www.kardonlab.org/.
Sandra Lee is an MD/ Ph.D. student in the Chaudhuri Lab in the Cardiovascular Research and Teaching Institute (CVRTI). She studies mitochondrial Complex I dysfunction in the context of heart failure. In particular, she is interested in why a redox protein called peroxiredoxin-3 (prdx3) increases when Complex I is dysfunctional. When she’s not in the lab, Sandra loves to do everything with her standard poodle, Kronk, from hiking, snowboarding, camping, and road-tripping.…
Read MoreSandra Lee is an MD/ Ph.D. student in the Chaudhuri Lab in the Cardiovascular Research and Teaching Institute (CVRTI). She studies mitochondrial Complex I dysfunction in the context of heart failure. In particular, she is interested in why a redox protein called peroxiredoxin-3 (prdx3) increases when Complex I is dysfunctional. When she’s not in the lab, Sandra loves to do everything with her standard poodle, Kronk, from hiking, snowboarding, camping, and road-tripping. She loves soccer but has started playing spikeball in recent years.
Tegan Lengyel works in the Anderegg lab at the University of Utah where she studies the impact of climate change on forests. As a lab manager, she assists graduate students and postdoctoral staff with their research ranging from the impacts of drought on xylem function to biogeochemical traits of soil. Tegan is a prospective graduate student for Fall 23 and is interested in studying the impacts of climate change on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Tegan is looking forward to the many ways in which STEMAP will allow her to engage with her community through science. Along with her interests in science, Tegan also enjoys spending time outdoors skiing, hiking, backpacking, camping, and spending time in the field!
Nicole Losurdo works in the Link Lab at the University of Utah where she studies the genetic mechanisms of microcephaly in Drosophila melanogaster. She is interested in the genetics of neurodevelopment and how dysregulation of certain genes leads to impairments in development. In her research, Nicole is focused on finding mutations in genes that generate brain size phenotypes and then deciphering the mechanisms of these genes in neurodevelopment. Her projects will broaden our knowledge of the genetics of neurodevelopment and give a better understanding of the complex process. She is also passionate about public engagement in STEM with a greater focus on encouraging girls to be excited about STEM fields. She has previously worked with local girl scout troops to perform scientific experiments and is excited to broaden her outreach skillset through the STEM Ambassador Program. Nicole greatly enjoys building her strength with powerlifting, going on adventures with her dog, spending time with her cat, and baking.
Helena Lucente is studying oncological sciences and clinical investigation in Dr. Michael Engel’s lab at the University of Utah. She is studying context-dependent notch signaling in leukemia pathogenesis. Specifically understanding how modifying the notch pathway impacts which subtype of leukemia develops and translating that understanding into personalized treatments for patients.
Twitter @HelenaLucente1
Vincent Mays is in the Horvath Lab at the University of Utah, where he studies the structure and biochemistry of MutY, a DNA repair enzyme. He is interested in MutY’s activity on RNA/DNA duplexes and the biological and biotechnological impact of this interaction. In addition to research, Vincent is interested in connecting people of faith with science and demonstrating how the two are synergist, not antagonistic. He hopes to utilize the STEM Ambassador program toward this cause and to help scientists better understand how to communicate with people of faith. Vincent spends his free time practicing jiu jitsu, outdoor adventuring, and discussing world views through the student organization Ratio Christi.
Tim McFadden works in the Minteer and Sigman Lab at the University of Utah where he studies organic electrosynthesis and method development. He looks forward to improving his science outreach skills through the SEM Ambassador Program. In his free time, Tim enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and open water swimming.
Julia McGonigle works in Dr. William Brazelton’s lab at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on studying connections between morphological, genetic, and metabolic diversity found within a single species biofilm inhabiting chimneys at the Lost City, a hydrothermal vent field on the mid-Atlantic ridge. Her scientific interests include biology of extreme environments, exobiology, nutrient cycling, and microbial metabolism.
Julia enjoys rock climbing, mountaineering, yoga, and cooking.
Ryan McLaughlin works for the Materials Research, Science, and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Utah in the group of Dr. Valy Vardeny doing experimental research on next-generation electronics. These include organic (carbon-based) semiconductors and devices that exploit magnetism to achieve new functionalities: a field known as “spintronics.”
Ryan’s specialization is in optical interferometry, where he uses his home-built fiber-optic laser microscope to make extremely sensitive measurements of the magnetic properties of these new materials and devices.
Ryan loves the outdoors. He can be found hiking, camping, kayaking, or climbing rocks in Utah’s beautiful mountains.
Daniel Mendoza’s research interests include quantifying and characterizing urban greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions for use in human exposure estimation and metropolitan planning. He also examines the health effects associated with acute and chronic pollutant exposure, particularly in vulnerable populations. He recently joined the Dark Skies team and will focus on the association between dark skies and urban light pollution with air quality and health outcomes.
He was previously a professional cyclist in Europe, and currently enjoys Utah’s outdoors by competing in duathlons and snowshoe races.
Olivia Miller is working with Dr. Kip Solomon at the University of Utah. She studies melting of the Greenland ice sheet, focusing specifically on meltwater storage within the ice sheet. Olivia received her MS in Geology from the University of Utah and BA in Earth & Environmental Science from Wesleyan University.
Olivia enjoys skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing – really any kind of outdoor adventure.
Katie Mohlenhoff is a zooarchaeologist in Dr. Jack Broughton’s laboratory at the University of Utah. Katie is broadly interested in using animal remains from archaeological contexts to reconstruct ancient environmental conditions, as well as using these same remains to directly understand hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies on the Pacific coast of North America. Currently, she is using a large assemblage of marine fish remains from a site on the Pacific coast of Baja California to reconstruct sea surface temperature over the last 12,000 years.
She uses fish species presence and abundance information to reconstruct gradual and also cyclical (El Niño) changes in the environment. With this information, she will then explore human/environment interactions and fishing strategies on the relatively understudied coast of Baja California.
Katie can be found exploring the outdoors with her dogs, a backpack and a camera, snowboarding, rock climbing, fly fishing or running.
Jeremy Morris works in Dr. David Carrier’s lab at the University of Utah. Jeremy studies musculoskeletal design in vertebrates and how sexual selection and natural selection shape the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Specific topics of interest in Jeremy’s research include morphological specialization for locomotor performance and aggressive behavior and the biomechanical and physiological underpinnings of animal performance.
Travis is a 4th year Ph.D. student working for Dr. Marc Calaf and Dr. Eric Pardyjak in the mechanical engineering department at the University of Utah. His thesis work has been on understanding the physical processes in the atmospheric boundary layer (bottom 1 km of the atmosphere) which are driven by spatial differences in surface temperature. Thus far, his studies have been conducted through field experiments, where he collects basic meteorological data in an idealized setting in Utah’s West Desert. The overall goal of this research is to improve the parameterization of land surface interactions in numerical weather prediction models.
Dara Niketic studies bacterial genetics at the University of Utah. She is interested in the genetics of bacterial movement, specifically in the origins and mechanics of the flagellum.
Chisom Nwoye is a Molecular Biology research Ph.D. student at the University of Utah. Her project in Wes Sundquist’s lab seeks to elucidate the role of HIV-1 viral capsid at different stages of the viral life cycle, including reverse transcription, integration, and viral egress. Her studies will help improve therapeutic designs to combat HIV, and learning from the viral intelligence will help inform the recreation of the other mechanistic approaches, i.e., viral vectors and synthetic capsid constructs to enhance gene delivery/therapies and other cellular manipulations using molecular techniques.…
Read MoreChisom Nwoye is a Molecular Biology research Ph.D. student at the University of Utah. Her project in Wes Sundquist’s lab seeks to elucidate the role of HIV-1 viral capsid at different stages of the viral life cycle, including reverse transcription, integration, and viral egress. Her studies will help improve therapeutic designs to combat HIV, and learning from the viral intelligence will help inform the recreation of the other mechanistic approaches, i.e., viral vectors and synthetic capsid constructs to enhance gene delivery/therapies and other cellular manipulations using molecular techniques. Chisom hopes to use her knowledge in viral studies in the long term to solve the problem of HIV latency and develop strategies for permanently eradicating HIV.
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