Past Scholars

Emmanuel Chavez graduated from the University of California, Riverside, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Biology with a medical emphasis. While at UC Riverside, Emmanuel led the Riverside Free Clinic and was a founding member of the Coachella Valley Free Clinic, where both initiatives helped provide free medical services to the underserved population of the Inland Empire. He recently joined Dr. Chu’s lab, where Emmanuel will help research new ways to identify “pre-osteoarthritis,” or signs of knee deterioration that occur before osteoarthritis even develops, as well as treatments that might prevent osteoarthritis.

Jazzelle Denean Magaña is a graduate from the University of California, Davis where she earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Cognitive Science with an emphasis in Neuroscience and a minor in Human Development.

Here she participated in qualitative research that examined the social constructs of disability, specifically if there were any imbalances in the NIH funding allocation at UC Davis regarding disability and technology. If an imbalance was found, the goal of this research was to encourage an equitable dispersion of funds across these groups to allow this community to thrive in a society that values accessibility, diversity, and inclusion.

Now as a REACH Postbac scholar, Jazzelle has joined the ProfitLab at CPQCC where she will be using qualitative methods to study neonatal quality of care in NICU’s across California. This research will help lower infant mortality rates and promote opportunities for improvement in equitable, safe, and quality healthcare.

Hector S. Medrano is a recent graduate from New York University where he earned a degree in Neuroscience. While at NYU, Hector worked as a Research Assistant in the Joyner Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There, he pursued his undergraduate thesis work investigating the role of the gene KMT2D in the progression of SHH-driven medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor. Taking a step away from the bench, and as the newest member of the Patel Laboratory, Hector will be working on the ALCANCE (Addressing Latinx CANcer Care Equity) Initiative which aims to evaluate the efficacy of a community health worker delivered educational intervention to improve knowledge of and access to precision medicine.

Anne Onyali is a recent graduate from Santa Clara University, where she majored in Public Health Science and Biology. During her undergraduate years, she worked as a student researcher in the University of Washington Musculoskeletal Systems Biology Lab. In the lab, the Tacoma native studied the impact variants of the TRAM family of genes have on bone mineral density and osteoporosis formation. Now, Anne has joined the Barnes Laboratory, where she will be studying the correlates of broad cross-reactivity of human antibodies targeting emerging coronaviruses to inform vaccine development. In addition, she is currently applying to medical school, seeking a career that will help address the racial and economic disparities in healthcare.

Jay is a REACH Postbaccalaureate Scholar at Stanford University’s School of Medicine working jointly between the Bao, Bertozzi, and Deisseroth laboratories. His work is on genetically targeted chemical assembly of functional bioelectronic materials in vivo.

Samantha Zenteno graduated from UC Berkeley in 2022 with a BA in Psychology and Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Neurobiology. She was a transfer student from Diablo Valley College, where she majored in Biology and Natural Science. Samantha is currently at Williams PanLab, where she will be researching potential biotypes of depression and investigating biomarkers that may better predict an individual’s response to a specific course of treatment.