S. aureus is a common pathogen in children that causes a wide range of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis and pneumonia and skin and soft tissue infections. Despite over 20 years of effort, there is no vaccine to prevent S. aureus. To better understand the pathophysiology of S. aureus infection in children, my research aims to elucidate the molecular mechanism of immunity against S. aureus in humans and develop vaccines that can support the generation of effective adaptive immunity against the pathogen.

Over 11 million women suffer from urinary tract infections (UTIs) each year in the US, 27% of whom will experience a recurrent UTI (rUTI) in the following months (as many as six or more rUTIs per year). Current antibiotic treatment has not been effective in treating rUTI, and the increase in antibiotic-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), the primary causative agent of UTIs, has made treating primary infection more challenging. By studying the roles of type 6 secretion systems and genes upregulated in pathogenic infection (positively selected genes), my projects aim to better understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms of primary and recurrent UTI and apply that knowledge to discover new therapeutics and improve clinical outcomes.

Emerging alphaviruses such as Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) and Ross River Virus (RRV) are mosquito-borne viruses that, upon infection, can cause fever, muscle pain, rash, and arthritic symptoms. These arthritic symptoms can last for years after primary infection and lead to significant morbidity and health care costs. However, there is currently no vaccine or effective antiviral treatment for CHIKV. By studying the interactome of Mxra8, a previously established entry mediator for CHIKV and other arthritogenic alphaviruses, my project aimed to better understand how CHIKV infects host cells and use that new information to develop new treatments and therapeutics.

S. aureus is a common pathogen in children that causes a wide range of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis and pneumonia and skin and soft tissue infections. Despite over 20 years of effort, there is no vaccine to prevent S. aureus. By evaluating the role of dendritic cell-stimulating adjuvants in stimulating an effective preventative S. aureus response, my project aimed to better understand the pathophysiology of S. aureus infection and apply that knowledge to discover new therapeutics and improve clinical outcomes.

My research in the Shiow lab centered around understanding diseases like neonatal white matter injury and multiple sclerosis and finding new ways to treat them. Neonatal white matter injury (nWMI), which is characterized by a loss of premyelinating oligodendrocytes, is a significant cause of morbidity and death in premature infants and is associated with long-term neurodevelopmental deficits in surviving infants. Current efforts to treat nWMI have been unsuccessful in preventing long-term neurodevelopmental deficits and repairing the myelin loss. Through flow cytometry and other techniques to study neural and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells that could be targeted in the treatment of nWMI, my project aimed to expand our knowledge of the pathophysiology of nWMI and other demyelinating disorders and identify new therapeutic targets for the improvement of neonatal care and clinical outcomes. This work resulted in two publications in GLIA and eLife and one poster presentation at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Society Meeting.

• Work with a team at De Colores to help young gay or bisexual men of color access key resources for sexual health and provide a safe, supportive space to help shape a healthier and safer community for the LGBT community. • Collaborated in the development of a new at-home HIV testing program• Assisted with all facets of outreach including advertising events and communicating with clients on Facebook as well as going to local colleges to talk with students about sexual health resources and distribute condoms/lube

Plants rely on a finely tuned surveillance and recognition-based innate immune system for protection from pathogenic diseases. When pathogens are sensed, rapid induction of resistance responses is required for effective plant protection. However, normal plant growth depends on the finely tuned repression of resistance responses when a pathogen is absent. Despite these finely tuned innate immune mechanisms, pathogen diseases cause 10-20% loss of crop yield annually. My project aimed to better characterize the role of miR6026, an important miRNA involved in regulation of plant innate immunity and a target of plant viral pathogens, in a tomato model. This work was funded through research funding from the Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research.

• Guided small groups of UC Berkeley undergraduates in lab exercises that explored phenomena around predator-prey dynamics, competition, and bioindicator analysis, breaking down complex information into easy to understand ideas• Presented a lecture on introductory bioinformatics to UC Berkeley undergrads as a student instructor for General Biology to explain the history of alignment methods and show how BLAST and FASTA can help identify phylogenetic relationships• Instructed a 4-hour lab section of 16 students with Dr. Julie Woodruff, explained key course concepts to students, helped write weekly quizzes, asked questions of the students to clarify their understanding, and helped students connect what they learned to real-life scenarios

• Served coffee drinks and wraps, handled cash transactions, stocked espresso machines and wrap station, and maintained store cleanliness while consistently providing helpful, safe, friendly and timely service to each customer with Cal Dining• Demonstrated flexibility and initiative by switching between each of my three duties to help lead the Cal Dining team while preparing and restocking food items, sanitizing the work area, refilling condiment and utensil dispensers, and preparing drinks. • Trained new employees on how to use machines, serve coffee and wraps, cashier, and interact positively with customers at multiple Cal Dining locations• Delivered efficient and courteous customer service, addressed customer complaints and helped resolve employee conflicts• Respond to a high volume of customer requests with friendliness and professionalism

• Increased ease and efficiency of insurance document retrieval by creating and implementing several electronic filing systems for important and confidential accounting documents as accountant assistant• Improved accuracy of insurance company’s policy records and demonstrated meticulousness by reviewing and correcting numerous policies, including general and auto liability, property, and worker’s compensation policies as renewal assistant• Expanded business with Southeast Asian, Indian, and Hispanic clients by carefully assembling a specialized advertising database from multiple lists with 70,000+ entries, including DMV records from CA, AZ and TX, and Logger Operating License Registrations