U-GROW ScholarsÂ
U-GROW ScholarsÂ
Lauren Borjas
CSU Fullerton
Mentor: Dr. Katie Atkins
Heidi Cardenas
CSU Channel Islands
Mentor: Dr. Joshua Levy
Sebastian Dang
CSU Long Beach
Mentor: Dr. Timothy Daskivich
Austin Esparza
CSU Long Beach
Mentor: Dr. Michelle Jones
Judy Estrada
CSU Los Angeles
Mentors: Zul Surani, Reener Balingit,
Dr. Nicholas Acuna
Cece Garcia
Cal Poly Pomona
Mentor: Dr. Adam Weiner
Bryan Magana
CSU Channel Islands
Mentor: Dr. Mohamed Omar
Manny Marroquin
CSU Long Beach
Mentor: Dr. Yelba Castellon-Lopez
Loue Masoud
CSU Dominguez Hills
Mentor: Dr. Jun Gong
Elica Miranda
CSU Los Angeles
Mentor: Dr. Gillian Gresham
Nicolas Ngo
CSU Fullerton
Mentor: Dr. Judy Tan
Alexis Pope
CSU Long Beach
Mentors: Dr. Cody Ramin &
Dr. Vanessa Torres
Jackii Zepeda
CSU Los Angeles
Mentors: Zul Surani, Reener Balingit,
Dr. Nicholas Acuna
Avetik Barsegyan
CSU Northridge
“Refining Artificial Intelligence Summaries of Prostate Cancer Consultations through the Integration of Natural Language Processing with ChatGPT”
Mentor: Dr. Timothy Daskivich
Juliet Gomez
CSU San Bernardino
“Bridging Gaps: Data Visualization Addressing Disparities in Advance Care Planning Among Older Latino/a/x Adults”
Mentor: Dr. Yelba Castellon-Lopez
Amiyah Jones
CSU Dominguez Hills
CSCC Community Outreach
and Engagement
Mentors: Zul Surani with Lourdes Barajas
Ellie Kha
CSU Channel Islands
“The Intersection of Cardiovascular Risks From SARS-CoV-2 and Cardiotoxic
Cancer Therapies”
Mentor: Dr. Katelyn Atkins
Pauline Lim
CSU Fullerton
“Colorectal Cancer Prognosis Analysis from Surveillance End Result Program (SEER) Database (2000 – 2021)”
Mentor: Dr. Paul Pharoah
Ashley Morales
CSU Dominguez Hills
“Understanding Nutrition Interventions among Latino Communities: A Scoping Review and Internship Experience
with the Torres Lab”
Mentor: Dr. Vanessa Torres
Bryan Navarro
CSU Long Beach
“How to Study the Effects of Fasting on the Androgen Dependent Pathway in Androgen Receptor Positive Prostate Cancer”
Mentor: Dr. Patricia Thompson
Jordy Ocampo
CSU Los Angeles
“Leveraging Media for Examining IBS-C Patients’ Real World Experiences with Pharmacologic Therapies”
Mentor: Dr. Christopher Almario
Kylie Reeves
CSU Los Angeles
“Conducting research to develop and evaluate a dyadic mobile health app intervention to enhance medication adherence among sexual and gender minoritized people living with HIV and their partners”
Mentor: Dr. Judy Tan
Luvina Ron
CSU San Bernardino
“Learning the Fundamentals of Python”
Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Tatonetti
Samantha Samaniego
CSU San Bernardino
“From Roots to Bloom:
How I Grew as an Intern”
Mentors: Dr. Patricia Thompson/
Dr. Stephen Freedland with Alexandra Mack
Iluoghene Akene
CSU Northridge
"Presentation of Acute Pancreatitis in Black and White Populations"
Mentor: Dr. Christie Jeon
Julianna Argueta
CSU Fullerton
"Patterns of alcohol use amongst Hispanic adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer in California"
Mentor: Dr. Jane Figueiredo
Kathleen Bascos
CSU Channel Islands
"The Role of Community Outreach & Engagement in Cancer Research"
Mentors: Zul Surani with Dr. Ghecemy Lopez
Benito Cermeno
Cal Poly Pomona
"Immunoglobulin Expression in Metastatic Breast Cancer Cell Lines"
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Shiao
Naeomi Chin
CSU Los Angeles
"Age and sex-specific trends in cancer incidence in the United Kingdom from 1971-2020"
Mentor: Dr. Paul Pharoah
Christina Gloady
Cal Poly Pomona
"Exploring the Entry Mechanism Efficacy of Nanoparticles Targeting the HER3 Biomarker on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer to Inhibit Tumor Growth"
Mentor: Dr. Lali Medina-Kauwe
Anakaren Gonzalez
CSU Long Beach
"Exploring Associations Between Search Trends in Prostate Cancer Medications and Socio-Economic Factors in the United Kingdom and European Union"
Mentors: Dr. Stephen Freedland with Alexandra Mack
Liana Gutierrez
CSU Northridge
"Promoting Physical Activity and Nutritional Literacy Among LA Youth Through the ShineLA Initiative"
Mentor: Dr. Vanessa Torres
Diana Martinez
CSU Los Angeles
"How to Study the Effects of Fasting on the PI3K/AKT/p53 Pathway in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Cells"
Mentor: Dr. Patricia Thompson
Savanna Monson
CSU Channel Islands
"Microbial and metabolite correlates of lean body mass in advanced pancreatic cancer cachexia"
Mentor: Dr. Jun Gong
Tyler Morris
CSU Long Beach
"Withdrawal Rates and Patient Preference in Weight Loss Studies"
Mentor: Dr. Sarah Salvy
Yzabella Nardo
CSU Fullerton
"Two Case Studies of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivor Physical Activity Experiences"
Mentor: Dr. Celina Shirazipour
CSU Northridge
"Mapping Family-Based Nutrition Interventions to Reduce and Prevent Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Consumption Among the U.S. Adult Population: A Scoping Review"
Mentors: Dr. Toby Datta/Dr. Vanessa Torres
Kenneth Perez
CSU Dominguez Hills
"Using Libraries to Educate About
Cancer Finances (LEAF)"Â
Mentor: Dr. Maggie Liang
CSU Northridge
"Examining Risk Factors in Recurrent Endometriosis: A Sub-Study of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Patients"
Mentor: Dr. Kate Lawrenson
Aaron Denmark
CSU Dominguez Hills
"Study of plasma-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and fecal biomarkers in colorectal cancer"
Mentor: Dr. Megan Hitchins
Ashlyn Southerland
CSU Northridge
"CreateYourGuide: Traction of Accessible, Personalized, and Web-Based Gender-Neutral Cancer Screening Guidelines"
Mentor: Zul Surani
Brenda Romero
CSU Los Angeles
"Faith in Action! A Church Based Navigation Model to Increase Breast Cancer Screening in Korean Women"
Mentor: Zul Surani
Carina Gregorio
CSU Los Angeles
"Mapping Population Density in Rural California to Identify Patients for a Study on Virtual Reality Treatments for Chronic Pain"
Mentor: Dr. Brennan Spiegel
Diana Venegas
CSU Northridge
"Examining diction in research articles aiming to investigate sexual gender minority status and cervical cancer screening adherence"
Mentor: Dr. Toby Datta
Katrina Silos
CSU Northridge
"Cardiac Effects On Breast and Lung Cancer Patients"
Mentor: Dr. Katelyn Atkins
Sarah Groff
CSU Fullerton
"Cognitive Training Through
Gaming and Walking"
Mentor: Dr. Sarah Salvy
Tailyr Monette
CSU Dominguez Hills
"Physical Activity and Mental Health in the Cancer Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic"
Mentor: Dr. Gillian Gresham
Taylor Rowan
CSU Channel Islands
"Examining the Role A Social Support Network Has for Cancer Patients and the Positive Impact it has on the Cancer Patient's Likelihood of Survivorship"
Mentor: Dr. Alix Sleight