Layla Hiramatsu

My interest in biological research began when I was an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles. I started work in the Alfaro Lab in my third year and learned to use statistical tools (R software) to answer questions of evolution. In the winter quarter of the following year, I joined 14 other students on a field quarter in Nicaragua. There, my project partner and I studied behavior of cane toads and howler monkeys. You can read more about these projects under the "research" tab.

I am heavily involved in outreach efforts because I believe that sharing my passion for science with the community (especially young students) will inspire more people to pursue it. I have been elected as the Outreach Co-coordinator of the graduate association for our program, and with my partner, have been extending our outreach efforts. Science literacy is low in the Inland Empire (Riverside County and surrounding areas), so the outreach that we are involved in has great impact. I also participate in IDEA, the UCR Institute for the Development of Educational Applications, aimed at providing free educational tools for all levels of schooling.