Last Friday the CSUN Chapter of Sigma Xi held its 24th Annual Student Research Symposium, in which 26 students across the College of Science and Math presented results of their research projects to panels of faculty judges. The Department of Biology had an excellent showing, with many students winning their sessions. Below are the results — congratulations to all our winners!
Session I (Undergraduate Students)
First Place: Paulina Juarez-Estevez, Biology, CIRM N-COMPASS, PI: Malone/Flores, presenting “Lipopeptide hydrogels to increase efficacy of cancer vaccines”
Second Place: Dain Dayo, Biology, BUILD PODER, PI: Malone, presenting “Understanding the transcriptional regulation of the gene ubiquitin-specific peptidase 47”
Third Place: Marco Rodriguez-Aussenac, Biology, CIRM N-COMPASS, PI: Malone/Flores, presenting “Exosome-mediated crosstalk in corneal wound healing using 3D constructs”
Session II (Undergraduate Students)
First Place: Yoseline Lagunas, Biology, CIRM N-COMPASS, PI: Malone/Flores, presenting “Nanofibrous microspheres for diabetic wound healing”
Second Place: Raquel Blanco, Biology, CIRM N-COMPASS, PI: Malone/Flores, presenting “Fibrillated microgels through filamented light biofabrication”
Third Place: Angel Cermeno, Biology, PI: Malone, presenting “Characterizing Transcription Factor Activity within the Human UVRAG Promoter”
Session IV (Undergraduate Students)
First place: Daniela Alonso, Biology, BUILD PODER, PI: Malone, presenting “Maximal expression of the FOXR1 promoter requires positive transcription factor Interactions”
Second Place: Alvaro Geminiano Aragon, Biology, PI: Yoder, presenting “The influence of elevation and climate variables in the development of clonal growth in Joshua trees”
Third Place: Jon Floyd Padilla, Biology, CIRM N-COMPASS, PI: Malone/Flores, presenting “Identification of vagal innervation in cancer-associated cachexia models in mice”