2021 McNair Scholars Program

2021 McNair Scholars Program

Lupita Bravo UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Lupita Bravo
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Major: Geology
Mentor: Dr. Michael E. Oskin
Research Interests: Measuring Vertical Displacements from the 2019 Ridgecrest 
Update: Lupita was accepted to University of California, Riverside Earth & Planetary Science Ph.D. program.

Andrea Medina-Castellanos UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Andrea Medina-Castellanos
Hometown: Oakland, CA
Major: Chicanx Studies
Mentor: Dr. Michael Singh
Research Interests: Experiences of Latina in High-Performing Charter Schools

Trevor Clarke

Trevor Clarke
Hometown: Concord, CA
Major: Applied Physics
Mentor: Dr. Richard Scalettar
Research Interests: The Effect of Emitters on Quantum State Transfer in Coupled Cavity Arrays 
Update: Trevor was accepted to Purdue University's Applied Physics/Engineering Ph.D. program.

Vali Engles UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Vali Engles
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Dr. Nitzan Shabek
Research Interests: First Steps Toward Biochemical Characterization of ATP Function on Cryptochrome Blue Light Receptors 
Update: Vali was accepted to California Institute of Technology Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics Ph.D. program.

Cesar Fierro UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Cesar Fierro
Hometown: Bellflower, CA
Major: Chicanx Studies & African American Studies
Mentor: Dr. Michael Singh
Research Interests: The Experiences of Men of Color in Higher Education

Eva Huang, Dr. Megan Welsh UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Eva Huang
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Major: Communication 
Mentor: Dr. Jingwen Zhang & Hannah Stevens
Research Interests: Factors that Influence COVID-19 Vaccination Behaviors in the United States

Brianna Herrera UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Brianna Herrera
Hometown: Dixon, CA
Major: Psychology & Chicanx Studies
Mentor: Dr. Kali Trzesniewski
Research Interests: Parent Involvement in School and Student Educational Achievement in Mexican Origin Families

Lennyn Morales UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Lennyn Morales
Hometown: Lancaster, CA
Major: Biochemical Engineering
Mentor: Dr. Kelly Subramanian & Dr. Jodi Nunnari
Research Interests: Identifying Regulators of the CoQ Biosynthetic Pathway in Budding Yeast

Pemba Sherpa UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Pemba Sherpa
Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Dr. Jin Zhang
Research Interests: Characterizing Biological Functions of FXDR Isoform

Lauren Ward UC Davis McNair Scholars Program

Lauren Ward
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Major: Ecology, Evolution & Biodiversity 
Mentors: Dr. Marina LaForgia and Dr. Jennifer Gremer
Research Interests: Movement & Microbes: How Dispersal Distances & Microbial Communities Interact to Affect Seed Germination  
Update: Lauren was accepted to Stanford University's Earth System Sciences Ph.D. program.