Students in Minority Science Programs rack up 17 awards for research presentations at conferences

UC Irvine undergraduates participating in research training in the Francisco J. Ayala School of Biological Sciences’ Minority Science Programs earned 17 awards for their research presentations at three national conferences this fall. They conducted original research in labs at UCI and abroad as part of the MSP training activities supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. At the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in San Antonio, UCI garnered more awards than any other school. The 12 winning MSP students (and their project categories) are: Christina Michael (neuroscience), Christopher Salazar (microbiology), Cyril Soliman (social & behavioral sciences & public health), Erick Maglalang (chemistry), Kevin Trejo (physiology), Kyle Kisor (social & behavioral sciences & public health), Jonathan Abebe (microbiology), Joshua Arias (physiology), Josselyn Pena (developmental biology & genetics), Leovi Espitia (engineering), Priscilla San Juan (molecular & computational biology) and Orangel Gutierrez (social & behavioral sciences & public health). Three MSP undergrads snagged awards at the Sigma Xi International Research Conference in Glendale, Ariz.: Eden Barragan (cell biology & biochemistry), Christina Owens (chemistry)  and Michelle Oberoi (cell biology & biochemistry). And Michael Emami and David Saldana (both biological sciences) won awards at the national conference of the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos & Native Americans in Science in Los Angeles.