Statement from Student Rep: Kristin Yamada

The Molecular Toxicology Interdepartmental Program offers both a breadth of career opportunities as well as a nurturing environment to grow as a scientist. The interdisciplinary nature of the program provides opportunities in many areas of science including molecular biology, chemistry, and epidemiology. Furthermore, the variety of labs in the program and state of the art UCLA core research facilities provide the opportunity to gain experience in techniques such as mass spectrometry and high-throughput screening, as well as skills using several in vitro and in vivo models. In addition, the students and faculty participate in many organizations such as the Society of Toxicology, AAPS, and various non-profit organizations, which establish interactions with people from industry, government and academia. Finally, the size of the program and quality of students allows for significant interaction between students and creates a cohesive and supportive group.

Aaron Chapman

Aaron Chapman is a New Orleans, Louisiana native and a 2007 graduate of Tuskegee University. He joined Dr. Robert Schiestl's lab and the Molecular Toxicology PhD program at UCLA in 2008. His projects involve elucidating the inverse correlation in Parkinson disease and smoking related cancers, as well as further investigating the role environmental tobacco smoke plays in increased lung cancer susceptibility in DNA repair deficiencies in animals.

Aaron Lulla

Aaron Lulla is a native of East Windsor, New Jersey. Aaron recently graduated from Rutgers the State University of New Jersey (Cook College) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. Aaron looks forward to working with the faculty and students of the UCLA Molecular Toxicology Program.

Aya Westbrook

Aya Westbrook joined the Molecular Toxicology PhD program and the laboratory of Dr. Robert Schiestl in 2006. By using mouse models of intestinal inflammation such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, she hopes to further elucidate mechanisms of inflammation-associated cancers. More specifically, she is investigating the role of DNA damage and repair in the setting of chronic inflammation. She is currently investigating the mechanisms of systemic genotoxicity (having recently found that intestinal inflammation leads to systemic genotoxicity) and its potential role in the development of not only small bowel/ colorectal cancer but also extra-intestinal cancers such as lymphoma.

Bill Mahon

William Mahon received his B.S. from the University of Oklahoma at Norman in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry. He moved to California to attend graduate school after completing his Honors Thesis. He entered UCLA through the ACCESS program in 2009, and joined the Molecular Toxicology Ph.D. program in 2010 in Dr. Robert Schiestl's lab. His research involves analyzing new forms of TiO2 nanoparticle technology for utility and safety, as well as nanotechnology-based delivery options for anti-radiation drugs.

Chitrada Kaweeteerawat

Chitrada Kaweeteerawat graduated from Chiang Mai University in Thailand with a major in Biology. She then received the full scholarship from the Japanese Government for graduate study where she earned her Master degree in Molecular Genetics from Osaka University. Upon graduation, she was awarded with the fellowship from the Thai Government for Ph.D. study in the field of Molecular Toxicology. Chitrada aims to focus her research on the toxicity of Nanomaterials.

Ciara Remillard

Ciara Remillard is a 2006 graduate of the University of California, Davis, where she received her B.S. in Environmental Toxicology. After graduating, Ciara worked for two years at UC Davis as an Air Quality technician, helping to monitor visibility in national parks and protected areas. She is the recipient of the Chancellor's Prize Fellowship and the Eugene-Cota Robles Fellowship at UCLA. Ciara joined the Molecular Toxicology program in the 2009 and after her first year of rotations joined the lab of Dr. David Krantz. She is currently investigating the role of gene-environment interactions in the etiology of Parkinson's disease.

Julie Castaneda

Julie Castaneda received her B.S. from Eastern Kentucky University in Forensic Science with a concentration in Forensic Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She joined the Molecular Toxicology PhD program at UCLA in 2010. She is the recipient of the Eugene-Cota Robles Fellowship at UCLA and is currently participating in the 2010 NSF Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Competitive Edge graduate summer research program. Julie will be working in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Roth for her first of three laboratory rotations.

Kristin Yamada

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Kristin Yamada earned her B.S. in Chemsitry from UC Berkeley in 2006 and her MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from UCLA in 2008. She subsequently joined the Molecular Toxicology program and Curt Eckhert's lab in 2008 where she works on the mechanism of boron's anti-proliferative effects in prostate cancer cells. She also has the UC Toxic Substances Research and Training Program pre-doctoral fellowship in nanotoxicology. She is the author and webmaster of the UC TSRTP Nanomaterials Risk Assessment website: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/ehs/uctsrtpnano/

Parrisa Solaimani

Parrisa Solaimani joined the Molecular Toxicology PhD program at UCLA in 2007 and works in Dr. Oliver Hankinson's lab. She earned her Bachelor's degrees in Molecular and Cellular Biology, emphasis in Genetics, and in Integrative Biology from the University of California Berkeley in 2004. In 2005, she began working for Allergan, Inc. as a Clinical Pathology Laboratory Technician and subsequently as a Scientific Writer in the Drug and Safety Evaluation Department. She is the recipient of the Chancellor's Prize Fellowship and Eugene-Cota Robles Fellowship at UCLA and her research focuses on developing high throughput screenings for understanding the mechanisms of TCDD induced cytochrome P450's.

Priti Prasad

Priti Prasad earned her B.S. in Zoology and M.S. in Toxicology from New Delhi, India. She has worked as a Scientist at various companies (Pfizer Inc, Wrigley, GlaxoSmithKline) in the United States. Priti joined the Molecular Toxicology PhD program in 2010 and recently joined Dr. Singh's lab. Her projects involve utilizing in vitro and in vivo approaches to study the effect of hydrocarbon oils on immune and autoimmune responses. The broad goal of the proposed studies is to test the role of gene-environment interactions in modulating immune responses and whether an environmental factor(s) elicit autoimmune response and cause autoimmune disease in subjects carrying certain genetic backgrounds.

Sarah Kobylewski

Sarah Kobylewski received her B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Cell and Structural Biology. She worked as a researcher for the US Army Corps of Engineers in an environmental chemistry lab before moving to California to attend graduate school. She joined the Molecular Toxicology PhD program at UCLA in 2006 and works in Dr. Curt Eckhert's lab. Her research is in understanding the mechanism of boric acid's inhibitory effects on prostate cancer. Sarah recently authored a report on the sweetening compound, Rebaudioside A, for the Center for Science in the Public Interest and was author on a publication in PLoS. Read about Sarah's research in the news

Yelena Rivina

Yelena Rivina graduated from the University of Denver with a double B.S. in Biology and Psychology (Combined Cognitive Neuroscience), and a minor in Chemistry in 2007. During her undergraduate years she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Sharon Graw at the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, then headed by Dr.Theodore Puck. In 2008 Yelena joined the Molecular Toxicology doctorate program in Dr. Robert Schiestl's lab to work on the mechanisms of radiation countermeasures. Her work focuses on the development of pharmaceuticals that mitigate radiation toxicities.

Students in the MolTox Program present at the following conferences:

Society of Toxicology (SOT)
Southern California SOT (SCSOT)
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Experimental Biology
American Association of Pharmaceutical
Scientists (AAPS)

Besides having opportunities to collaborate with many UCLA institutes and faculty, MolTox students have collaborated with the following institutions:

Brookhaven National Laboratory Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
California EPA Department of Toxic Substances Control
Fibrogen Inc.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Southern California Particle Center
UCLA Veteran's Hospital

Erin Hsu

Erin Hsu received her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and subsequently joined the Molecular Toxicology Program at UCLA under the tutelage of Oliver Hankinson. Here, her work involved the characterization of novel TCDD-inducible genes, focusing on mechanisms of both carcinogenesis and chemoprevention. Her research resulted in the identification of a novel mechanism of phytochemical-based chemoprevention that was highlighted in the national and international media. Erin completed her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Chris Bradfield at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is currently a Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University.

Grace Lee

"Mol Tox program provided me the foundation for my job skills and knowledge as a toxicologist. It's a great program!"

Ilona Bebenek

Ilona Bebenek received both her Bachelor's degree and her Master's from UCLA. Her B.S. was in Organismic Biology, Ecology and Evolution, and her Master's thesis focused on the study of the genetics and evolution of jellyfish sensory organs. She joined the Molecular Toxicology PhD Program and the laboratory of Dr.Oliver Hankinson in 2004. She has been involved in research on the mechanisms of carcinogenesis mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT). She utilizes a transgenic knockout mouse for these studies and several carcinogenesis models. She is also in the process of helping to characterize an orphan cyotchrome p450, CYP2S1. Here, a transgenic knockout mouse, as well as cell culture, are used to study the role of CYP2S1 in the pathology of several diseases.

Kim Henderson

"I began the Molecular Toxicology program in 2003 and after my three rotations I joined Dr. Curt Eckhert's laboratory to study the mechanisms of action of boric acid on prostate cancer cells. Over the next five years, through hard work and excellent mentoring by my advisor, I learned how to do many different molecular biology techniques and assays, how to plan experiments, interpret data, and most importantly how to think independently and critically about science. I had many opportunities to present my work at national conferences and to make career contacts. I also made life long friends. Completing my PhD was an arduous process, but I am very happy that I did it and that it was through Molecular Toxicology. I am currently conducting post doctoral research in a cardiology lab at UCLA."

Lynn Yamamoto

Lynn Yamamoto works in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Schiestl and studies gene-environment interactions such as the responses in DNA repair-deficient mice to secondhand smoke or radiation. She also studies the effects of intestinal microflora on carcinogenesis.

Peter Bui

Peter Bui graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. Before he went to graduate school he worked for a biotech company for several years where he was a co-inventor for 3 patents. He then received his Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology from UCLA. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow in both Molecular Toxicology and Clinical Molecular Genetics. His research interests include the possible role of a novel cytochrome P450 2S1 in colorectal cancer and asthma, and molecular diagnosis of genetic disorders and cancers.

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Sudheer Beedanagari

Sudheer Beedanagari graduated with a M.S from the University of Georgia, and went on to receive his Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology from UCLA. Currently he is working as a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA in Dr. Oliver Hankinson's laboratory. He worked as a student representative for the Southern California regional chapter for SOT (SCCSOT) and currently works as a postdoctoral representative for American Scientists of Indian Origin (ASIO), a special interest group of SOT. His research interests include examining the role of epigenetic mechanisms in dioxin-induced transcriptional regulation of the human and mouse Cytochrome P450s.

Quote: "My excellent training in the UCLA Molecular Toxicology program has provided me with a solid foundation to establish my career as a Toxicologist. I am so grateful to all my colleagues (Moltoxer's) and especially Dr. Oliver Hankinson for his great mentoring."

Wade Barranco

Following the completion of his Ph.D. graduate studies in the UCLA Molecular Toxicology program, Wade Barranco participated in a two year post-doc focusing on the contribution of proteases and cigarette smoke contaminants to the development of asthma and COPD, respectively, in mice. He has since been employed at a small pharmaceutical company as a toxicologist fulfilling the roles of designing and monitoring toxicology studies contributing to the regulatory advancement of small molecule drugs.

Quote: "I continue to utilize my training at UCLA as a valuable resource, with respect to my duties as an industry toxicologist."

Zhanna Sobol

"The MolTox program at UCLA provides an excellent foundation for a career in toxicology. I really appreciated the many opportunities to attend professional meeting and smaller symposiums and training courses. The faculty is outstanding and besides being highly regarded experts in their fields, are very approachable and supportive."