CSULA students, faculty to converge at biotechnology conference
Two CSULA bio majors named finalists for research awards
Los Angeles, CA -- Dedicated to developing biotechnology researchers in California, the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) will bring together students and faculty from Cal State L.A. as well as 21 other CSU campuses at its 25th annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium from Jan. 3 to 5 at the Anaheim Marriott.
The CSU Biotechnology Symposium is designed to broaden exposure to cutting-edge biotechnologies, product-focused innovation and the spectrum of career paths available in the life sciences.
With research topics ranging from antifreeze protein to type 2 diabetes, 46 CSULA students—25 undergraduates and 21 graduate students—will present their posters during the symposium on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
This year, CSULA’s biology major Gregory Alvarado is selected as a finalist for the Don Eden Graduate Student Research Award. The Eden Award fosters excellence in graduate student research throughout the CSU system in biotechnology-related research. Alvarado, who is mentored by CSULA Professor Robert Nissen, will present his research on “The temperature sensitive wdr68hi3812 allele reveals a requirement for dlx1a/2a expression in craniofacial development.”
In addition, CSULA’s biology major Kathy Trang is selected as finalist for the Glenn Nagel Undergraduate Student Research Award. The Nagel Award fosters excellence in undergraduate student research throughout the CSU system in biotechnology-related research. Trang, who is mentored by CSU Long Beach Professor Houng-Wei Tsai, will present her research on “Sexually dimorphic expression of splicing factors in the developing mouse cortex and hippocampus.”
For this symposium, 266 research posters were accepted for presentation, which represent work from 146 faculty-led research groups at 22 campuses. The number of submitted and accepted abstracts is the most in the 25 years of the CSU Biotechnology Symposium.
As part of the three-day program, CSULA Professor Sandy Sharp will lead the CSUPERB Genomic Analysis and Technologies Taskforce Meeting, while CSULA Professor Wayne Tikkanen will co-present the Scientific Teaching Workshop. Also, CSULA alumnus Willie Guillermo Zuñiga, CEO/president of Grifols Biologicals, Inc., will coordinate a Career Networking Session for students in attendance.
A highlight of the event, the CSUPERB will be “Celebrating CSU Biotechnology Alumni.” Two of the honorees are CSULA alums: Hector Aguilar-Carreno of Washington State University and Michael Lipscomb of Howard University.
(The listing of poster presentations is available below.) For more information on the symposium, visit http://www.calstate.edu/csuperb/symposium/2013/.
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Characterizing the co-occurrence between mitochondrial KATP channel and uncoupling proteins in type 2 diabetes
Brito, Alfonso [G] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Lopez, Vanessa [G] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Peltekian, Lila [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Mandala, Sridhar [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Yamazaki, Katrina — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
DeLeon, Ray — Los Angeles, Kinesiology and Nutritional Science
Transmission of Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates between old and new facilities of LAC+USC Medical Center
Chong, Melissa [U] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Kuang, Shan N [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Chu, Yiming [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Xu, H. Howard — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Assessing Lipid-Derived Innate Immune Factors in Vernix Caseosa and Amniotic Fluid Protecting Against Intrauterine Infections
Tapia, Jazma [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Ma, Daniel [G] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Porter, Edith — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization of Clinical Outbreak Isolates
Gonzalez, Maria [U] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Warner, Wayne A. [U] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Hernandez, Rina [U] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Fleischer, Jen [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Chu, H. Howard — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Promoter Swapping analysis of Casein Kinase I paralogs in Candida albicans
Zhu, Peng-yi [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences (2012 CSUPERB Presidents’ Commission Scholar)
Rodriguez, Natalie [G] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Park, Hyunsook — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
A disc diffusion cell-based assay for identification of targets of antibacterial inhibitors
Ward, Mathew [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Silva, Isba [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Xu, H. Howard — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Identification of antisense RNA constructs that silence essential genes in Escherichia coli
Kuang, Shan N. [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Kanzaki, Gregory [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Meas, Diane [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Meng, Jia [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Xu, H. Howard — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Effect of PLUNC, a novel defense protein of the airways, on the activity of antimicrobial cholesteryl esters
Rodriguez, Raquel [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Tapia, Jazma [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Porter, Edith — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Design and construction of reporter plasmids to assess combinatorial contributions of 5’ and 3’ binding regions to Acta1 gene transcription
Vu, Ha [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Morales, Juan — Los Angeles, Life Science, Los Angeles City College
Sharp, Sandra B — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
The temperature sensitive wdr68hi3812 allele reveals a requirement for dlx1a/2a expression in craniofacial development
Alvarado, Gregory [G] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences (2013 Eden Award Finalist)
Wang, Bingyan — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Nissen, Robert M — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Elucidation of the mechanism by inhibition of antisense RNA in Escherichia coli using quantitative real time PCR
Widjaja, Sharon [U] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Arenas, Marcela [U] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Meas, Diane [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Karim, Hawra [G] — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Xu, H. Howard — Los Angeles, Department of Biological Sciences
Characterization of novel secreted luciferases from bioluminescent crustaceans.
Torres, Elizabeth — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Hovhannessian, Elizabeth [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Sirot, Steve [U] — Los Angeles, Biological Sciences
Analysis of Crosstalk Mechanisms between the BMP and Wg Signaling Pathways During Drosophila Wing Development
Rios, Marlyn [G] — Los Angeles, Biology
Aleman, Abigail [U] — Los Angeles, Biology
Vartanpour, Kerestineh [U] — Los Angeles, Biology
Eivers, Edward — Los Angeles, Biology
Improved Preparation of recombinant Tenebrio molitor Antifreeze Protein and Study on Its Antifreeze Activity Enhancement
Arifin, Josh [U] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Rios , Alejandra [U] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Juwita , Vonny [U] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Zamalloa, Jose [G] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Wen, Xin — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Expression and Purification of Sea Raven Type II Antifreeze Protein using Escherichia coli
Lainez, Nancy [U] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Gharibi, Arbi [G] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Zamalloa, Jose [G] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Wen, Xin — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Detection of Antibiotics using ssDNA Immobilized on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes Modified with Sb Nanoparticles
Ohan, Juliette A. [U] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Gomez, Frank A. — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Development of Microfluidic-Based Assays for the Detection of the Bone Turnover Marker Osteocalcin
Carmona, Hector [U] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Valadez, Hector [U] — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Gomez, Frank A. — Los Angeles, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Investigating the Role of Linker-phosphorylated Mad in Regulating BMP Signaling during the
Development of the Wing Imaginal Disc
Hronas, Nicole [G] — Los Angeles, Biology
Lee, Daniel [U] — Los Angeles, Biology
Eivers, Edward — Los Angeles, Biology
[U] = undergraduate students
[G] = graduate students
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