2020 - 2021 OFFICERS
WESLEY KAO
President
Wesley graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2019 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Music. At Cal Poly, Wesley was fully supported by the Frost Scholarship which enabled him to immerse himself in undergraduate research. His past research experiences include manipulation of cell-free protein synthesis under Dr. Javin Oza at Cal Poly and protein biochemistry involving poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases under Dr. Michael Cohen at OHSU. He is currently investigating the enamel microstructure of different animals in the Habelitz Lab at UCSF. In his free time, Wesley enjoys cooking and baking, drawing, music composition, poetry, public radio, and staying active.
ALLIE LIU
Secretary
Allie graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2017 with a B.S. in Biology, and in 2019 recieved her Masters in Molecular Biology from UCSB as well. During her undergrad years and throughout grad school, she worked in the Weimbs Lab, a biomedical research lab, specializing in protein detection and studying the molecular pathways of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. As a Summer Research fellow, Allie is working in the Barber lab looking at the role of lysosome pH dynamics in stem cell differentiation and pluripotency. In her free time, Allie enjoys going camping, hiking, and skating on her cruiser.
AN NGUYEN
Vice President
An graduated from UC Davis majoring in Molecular Cellular Biology. During her gap year, she worked as a researcher assistant studying meiosis at Dr. Burgess's lab. In 2015 she joined the DDS/PhD Oral Craniofacial Sciences Program at and Dr. Schneider's lab. Her current thesis project investigates osteogenic signalings regulated by the epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during mandibular development using avian models. One of her hobbies in lab is to make hybrid quck animals. Outside of lab, she enjoys cooking, cleaning, and playing piano.
Treasurer
JAY PARK
Jay graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in Biology. At WashU, Jay studied the effect of diabetes in causing skeletal neuropathy in Scheller Lab. During his senior year, Jay was listed as a second author for a paper titled “Characterization of the bone marrow adipocyte niche with three-dimensional electron microscopy”, a project he worked on as a summer research fellow under Dr. Scheller and Dr. Craft. At UCSF, Jay is investigating the role of age in causing periodontal diseases in the Alliston Lab. In his free time, Jay can be found in the city strolling around for good food and coffee.
ERIN MALONE
Senior Journal Club Coordinator
Erin Malone is an alumni of Tennessee State University, where he obtained his BS in Biology. He is currently a PI of his own F30 award which focuses on studying the influence of Treponema denticola on the progression of periodontal disease in the human periodontal ligament cells. He studies in the lab of Dr. Yvonne Kapila DDS, PhD at UCSF. Outside of obtaining his DDS and PhD at UCSF, Erin preaches at Uptown Church of Christ and enjoys traveling/experiencing new food cuisine with his wife, Robyn Malone.
MUUDUU OTGONBOLD
Communications Liaison
Muuduu graduated from University of Washington - Seattle majoring in General Biology. His previous research experiences include clinical trial of pediatric crowns in anterior primary teeth under Dr. Seminario and assisted Dr. Angkanawaraphan with her research on GRK2 as regulator of central sensitization in fibromyalgia and chronic TMD. He was also involved in educational research under Dr. Liepkalns about usage of social media in writing assignments with students majoring and not majoring in biology, where he learned to use network analysis tools. He was engaged with the DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health at UW until joining UCSF SoD. He enjoys good coffee and a walk at the park during his free time.
STEPHANIE ELLMAN
Newsletter Co-Editor-in-Chief
Stephanie Ellman was born and raised in San Francisco, and received her B.S. degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from UC Davis in 2018. During her undergraduate career, Stephanie investigated the peach genotypes resistant to oomycete infection in a long term effort to help farm workers yield disease-free crops. Outside of school, Steph enjoys traveling, exploring the city, and spending time with her friends, family, and labradoodle puppy, Teddy :)
MEREDITH ZHOU
Jr Journal Club Coordinator
Meredith graduated from Northwestern University in 2019 with majors in biology and psychology. During the first half of her undergraduate career, she worked as a research assistant on a clinical trial examining the combined efficacy of psychological and pharmacological treatments for smoking cessation in individuals with major depressive disorder. In the latter half of undergrad, Meredith worked on an independent research project studying the progression of colorectal cancer in mouse models. In her free time, she loves going on walks and corgi-spotting!
OLIVIA YU
Historian
Olivia Yu graduated from Tufts University in 2020 with a B.S. in Biochemistry. During her undergraduate program, she worked in Tufts Kaplan Lab studying silk hydrogels as bio-scaffolds for corneal epithelial cell regeneration and HSDM Rosen Lab investigating BMP3 and Noggin in bone and cartilage development using cKO mice models. Outside of school, Olivia enjoys cooking, taking polaroid pictures, and watching movies.
TIFFANY HUANG
Newsletter Co-Editor-in-Chief
Tiffany graduated from the University of Pennsylvania as a Molecular and Cell biology major in Dec 2018. Her first two years in undergrad, she worked to identify E. coli genes that confer protective immunity against viral enteric infection in Drosophila. Her last year, she worked on an independent research project investigating macrophage polarization in diabetic bone fractures. She spent her time between undergrad and UCSF as an Americorps volunteer planting trees with an urban forestry nonprofit. At UCSF, Tiffany is investigating the molecular mechanism of jaw length regulation in Dr. Schneider's lab. In her free time, Tiffany enjoys cooking, writing on her blog, and visiting national parks!
VIVIAN NGUYEN
Jr Newsletter Co-Editor
Vivian graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020 with a degree in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology. During her undergraduate program, she worked in the Park Lab at the UCLA SoD studying the pathological associations of periodontitis and atherosclerosis through the use of mouse models analyzed for systemic inflammation, aortic plaque formation, and periodontal disease. In her free time, Vivian enjoys baking, painting, and Yelp-ing new foods to try.
JAI EUN HUH
Jr Newsletter Co-Editor
Jai Eun graduated from Duke University in 2020 with a BS in Molecular & Cellular Biology. Her undergraduate research experiences include studying rapidly unfolding and folding (RUF) domain of Protein A in Staphylococcus aureus under Dr. Terrence Oas, bacterial growth dynamics under Dr. LingChong You, and downstream targets of Receptor Interacting Protein Kinase 3 (RIPK3) under Dr. Ashley Jen-tsen Chi. Outside of academics, she enjoys jogging, cooking, drawing, and catching up with friends and family.
HELENA VIETS
Advocacy Chair
Helena graduated with a degree in Molecular Environmental Biology from UC Berkeley. During her undergraduate career she conducted research on bacterial symbiosis at UCSF, and on detection of toxic aromatic compounds at Peking University. Outside of research and class, she enjoys olympic weightlifting, drawing, and catsitting.
HAEYOON JUNG
D2 Class of 2023 Representative
Haeyoon graduated from Wesleyan University in 2017 with a BA in Chemistry. She stayed another year at Wesleyan for an MA in Chemistry in 2018. Her undergraduate research involved the synthesis of shaped palladium-silver nanoparticles with catalytically active surfaces under Dr. Michelle Personick. Her graduate research involved a collaboration with the Energy Frontier Research Center at Harvard University under Dr. Cynthia Friend to create novel catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of alkynes. At UCSF, Haeyoon is investigating the elemental and biochemical markers of Peyronie’s plaque under Dr. Sunita Ho. In her free time, she likes playing and listening to music.
LARA FU
Jr. Advocacy Chair
Lara Fu graduated from University of Toronto majored in Biomedical Engineering. She also holds a master degree in bioengineering from Penn. Her research focused on tissue engineering and translational research. Her previous works range from designing a non-invasive device that removes muscle artifacts in Brain Computer Interface (under Dr. Tom Chau from Unvieristy of Toronto) to developing a novel antitumor drug delivery system via microparticle-loaded mesenchymal stem cells (under Dr. Jeff Karp from MIT). Outside of school, Lara is passionate of hiking, food, and cats!!!
NAM NGUYEN
D1 Class of 2024 Representative
After graduating from college with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Nam has worked for four years as a high school science teacher before joining the JGS team at UCSF School of Dentistry. During his time teaching, Nam has been actively involved in science fair mentorship to high school students and found joy in conducting research - something he has not given much thought about in his years of undergraduate study. As a 2021 Summer Research Fellow, Nam is excited to join Dr. Sunita Ho’s lab to study more about the Functional Competence of a Dentoalveolar Fibrous Joint in Vertebrates. In his free time, he enjoys playing badminton, brewing Thai tea, and jogging along the Ocean Beach trail with his friends and family.
BRIAN VINH HOANG
Graduate Liaison
Vinh graduated from Portland State with a B.S. in Biochemistry and completed his graduate program at UNC-Chapel Hill. His previous research involved detection of contamination from the use of antineoplastic agents in hospital inpatient intravenous preparations and led to the creation of a wipetest to quantify these contaminants. Outside of school, Vinh enjoys volunteering, hiking/camping, and learning new skills, such as watercolor painting and music.