Current PhD Candidates & Students
Alpha Order by last name
Bautista is interested in research on air pollution and electronic nicotine delivery devices. For his Master’s thesis, he recovered and identified metal-related compounds deposited in the lungs of agricultural workers to associate particles with observed lung injuries. He also worked as a graduate student researcher for the Tobacco Control Evaluation Center in the Department of Public Health Sciences at UC Davis.
My research interests focus on coastal ocean microbiomes and water quality along urban communities. My goals are to identify how microbial pathogens carried by human waste flowing to the ocean affect the health of microbiomes, coastal ecosystems, and, ultimately, human communities.
- Health Equity Research Summer Scholarship in Public Health
- H& Lee Charitable Foundation Scholarship Recipient in Public Health
- Environmental Racism and Health Equity Fellowship
Madeline’s current research goals are to bridge the intersectionality of toxicology work and public health policy as seen in the increased instances of disparities in minority populations. She is working to address pregnant persons exposure to air pollutants and the impacts it carries on embryonic skeletal development. She has a personal enthusiasm for mentorship/career guidance for students in historically excluded groups interested in pursuing a STEM-related career.
Awards & Fellowships:
- UC Irvine, Environmental Racism and Health Equity Fellow
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Award Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research
- Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, Marie W. Taubeneck Trainee Award
- Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology Award Recipient
- Guest Co-editor Birth Defects Research Journal: Special Issue
Pronouns: She/Her
Bao Nhia is a daughter of Hmong Refugees and a first-generation student. She is an experienced community-engaged coordinator for a study that addresses discipline disparities through trauma-informed care in MN schools. Her research interest is in injury and violence prevention for the Hmong and Southeast Asian Communities in the US, with a focus on community-based participatory research.
Awards & Fellowship(s): Graduate Opportunity Fellowship
Olivia Drayson
Dissertation Title: “Flashes to Mind: Biological, Imaging, and Machine Learning Analyses of Radiation Effects in Preclinical Mouse Models.”
Punnag Saha
Dissertation Title: “Hepatic Pathology and Infection Susceptibility in Underlying Climate Change Stressors”
Jessica Estefania Monterrosa Mena
Dissertation Title: “Effects of Dung and Biomass Emissions on Macrophage Defenses, Gene Regulation and Cellular Metabolism”
Dipro Bose
Dissertation Title: Unraveling the Genomic Crosstalk of Host Microbiome in Humanized Preclinical Models of Gulf War Illness
Barret Allen
Thesis: Flash Irradiation Protects the Central Nervous System
Rebecca Arechavala Johnson
Thesis:Waterpipe Smoke Exposure and Arterial Plaque Formation: Effects and Mechanisms Related to Sex, Autonomic Nervous System Changes and Endothelial Permeability in a Mouse Model of Atherosclerosis
Kelli Malott
Thesis: The Role of Oxidative Stress, Mitochondria, and Lipid Droplets in Gluatathione Deficiency and Benzo[a]pyrene-Induced Germ Cell Death and Reduced Oocyte Developmental Competence
Nicole Stiver-Chmielewski
Thesis:Sex-Differences in Taxane Cancer Treatment Toxicities
Sarah Mae Smith
Thesis: Radiation- and Chemotherapy-Induced Cognitive Deficits: Neural-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Translational Therapies
Yi Sun
Thesis: Green Space Exposure Assessment and Association with Maternal Mental Health
Ian Wesley Tang
Thesis: Application of Spatial Methods to Explore the Association between Environmental Exposures and Pregnancy Outcomes
Janielle Vidal
Thesis: Characterizing the Effect of Chronic Copper Exposure on Neuropathology and Induction of Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis in an APP Knock-In Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
David Alexander Herman
Jason Killian
Ron Joshua Leavitt
Neesha Moody
Marisa Chattman Nielsen
