Fifteen UCI undergraduates participating in the School of Biological Sciences’ Minority Science Programs received 21 awards for their research presentations at the 2012 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, held Nov. 7-10 in San Jose, Calif. ABRCMS is the largest professional conference for biomedical and behavioral students, bringing together about 3,300 individuals from more than 350 U.S. colleges and universities. The award-winning students and their research areas are: Stephan Kudlacek (biochemistry), Christina Owens (chemistry), Kirollos Bechay (developmental biology & genetics), Arianna Gomez (developmental biology & genetics), Horacio Estabridis (engineering, physics & mathematics), Sean Treacy (microbiology), Ernesto Sosa (microbiology), Eden Barragan (microbiology), Melisa Fuentes (microbiology), Fernando Avila-Garibay (molecular & computational biology), Francisco Carranza (molecular & computational biology), Ricardo Ortiz (neuroscience), Michelle Oberoi (neuroscience), Olga Osorio (physiology) and Arijh Elzein (physiology). The Minority Science Programs is an orchestrated effort by the National Institutes of Health and UCI’s School of Biological Sciences to increase underrepresented groups in biomedical research.