Stephanie Salazar (she/her)
Stephanie is a third-year graduate student in the department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG). Stephanie received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from UC Irvine in 2020. She entered UCI through the Cellular and Molecular Biosciences (CMB) program and has continued to pursue her PhD under the guidance of Dr. Orkide Koyuncu’s lab. Stephanie’s most recent work includes characterizing viral neurotracers that can be applied to neuroanatomical studies via observation of fluorescent proteins within neuronal circuits.
Jose Moran (he/they)
Jose is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG). He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology at Cal Poly Pomona in 2020. Jose began his doctoral studies through UCI’s Cellular and Molecular Biosciences (CMB) program and was welcomed to Dr. Matthew Marsden’s lab researching HIV infection and persistence with a focus on developing cure approaches by targeting the latent reservoir of HIV. Jose is passionate about community building and science communication in LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented communities.
Sydney Prange (she/her)
Sydney is a third-year graduate student in the department of Developmental and Cell Biology (DCB). Sydney received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Southern California in 2020. Sydney joined the UCI community in 2020 as part of the Cellular and Molecular Biosciences Gateway Program (CMB). As a member of the Thompson-Peer lab, she uses the fruit fly as a model system to study how dendrite regeneration is affected by neurodegenerative disease and aging. Sydney is passionate about building community for LGBTQ+ graduate students where they can be their full selves and share their awesome science.