SACNAS at UCLA    2024-2025     Board Members

Dr. diana azurdia

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN BIOSCIENCE
CO-ADVISOR
[email protected]​

Emil Dominguez

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-PRESIDENT
[email protected]​

Itzetl Avila

PHD STUDENT
VICE-PRESIDENT
​

Dr. Angelica Cardenas

Postdoctoral Researcher
SEDS Representative

AiLEEN NAVA

PHD STUDENT
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
​

Raymond Alvarado

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-OUTREACH COORDINATOR​​

Luna Rodriguez

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-INTERNAL AFFAIRS
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Mattias De los rios rogers 

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-INTERNAL AFFAIRS
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Dr. JEFFrey LONG

DIRECTOR, CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
CO-ADVISOR
[email protected]​

Priscila aguilar

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-PRESIDENT
​

AVA bignell

GRADUATE STUDENT
SECRETARY​

Matthew Meza 

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-FINANCE CHAIR
​

Isabel Watson

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
UNDERGRADUATE REPRESENTATIVE
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Diana Vaca

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
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Bryan Ramirez Reyes

GRADUATE STUDENT
CO-OUTREACH COORDINATOR
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Carlos-Eduardo GonzaleZ

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
CO-FINANCE CHAIR
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LEARN  MORE ABOUT US BELOW! 

Co-Chapter Advisor/Liason

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Dr. Diana Azurdia
Associate Director, Graduate Programs in Bioscience
[email protected]
​
Website: http://bioscience.ucla.edu/

Academic History:
  • Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
  • B.S. Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles
​

About me: Dr. Diana Azurdia has been a member of SACNAS for 16 years. She is a Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute (2014 LPSI) and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Advanced Leadership Institute (2016 SACNAS - HHMI ALI) Alumni. Currently, Dr. Azurdia serves on the national SACNAS Board of Directors and as a UCLA Chapter Co-Advisor.  
 
Dr. Azurdia leads UCLA’s effort to enhance diversity in the biomedical graduate student population by cultivating a strong inclusive graduate training culture focused on personal wellbeing, professional development, mentorship and leadership. She has directed several programs that broaden participation in science, served as adjunct faculty in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at CSU Los Angeles and performed postdoctoral research in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, investigating the role of Wnt/betacatenin signaling on histone modification and its role in metastasis and proliferation of triple-negative breast cancer cells. She earned her PhD in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry from UCLA, where she was a NIGMS Predoctoral Fellow (F31), and graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from CSU Los Angeles, where she was a NIH MARC trainee and participated in the NSF LSAMP program. Dr. Azurdia is a first-generation Guatemalan-American and the first in her family to attend college. She grew up in a low-income household with very limited resources and her first exposure to the idea that science could be pursued as a career came through the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program. As the beneficiary of broadening participation programs she believes that initiatives that promote access to STEM degrees are important for equal representation of all identities in science, the creation of innovations that serve all communities and income equity. Consequently, Dr. Azurdia has devoted her career to promoting initiatives that serve those causes. Additionally, she attributes her ability to navigate her academic career to key mentors and therefore a major focus of her work centers on the propagation of effective mentoring of underrepresented individuals in STEM. ​

PRESIDENTS

​​Emil Dominguez 
​
Email: [email protected]
Standing: 4th year undergraduate
Major/Minor: Biochemistry/Biomedical Research
Research Interest: My background is in natural product total synthesis, electrochemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry and photopharmacology. 
Why choose to be on SACNAS board?: I serve on the SACNAS board because I believe in our mission of recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities. SACNAS facilitates networking and community building that benefits students as they grow in their career.
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PRISCILA AGUILAR

Email: [email protected]
Standing: 3rd year undergraduate
Major: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics​
Research Interest: As an undergraduate, I conduct research in Dr. Gay Crooks’s lab. In the Crooks Lab, our focus lies in understanding the process of immune system development, both in its natural course and from pluripotent stem cells. My research project involves investigating regulatory T cell function by studying the transcription factor FOXP3. Currently, I am working to characterize the effects of FOXP3 expression through isoform engineering to be overexpressed in induced pluripotent stem cells. I have had the honor of participating in the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) undergraduate honors research program.
Why choose to be in SACNAS?: As a first-generation student from a Mexican background, I've faced the challenges of navigating academia with limited resources and opportunities. These unique experiences have inspired me to share the knowledge I've gained and guide others on their academic journeys. In my role within SACNAS, I am passionate about channeling my passion for the scientific community into mentoring and supporting the academic pursuits and achievements of fellow students.

Vice PRESIDENT

ITZETL AVILA

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Secretary 

AVA BIGNELL

Email: [email protected]
Standing: 1st year PhD Student
PhD Program: Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology
Research Interest: My research area is sensory biology. In particular, I am interested in studying modulation of behavior via neural pathways. More broadly, my goal is to conduct research that investigates the molecular mechanisms of disease states.
Why choose to be on SACNAS board? On the SACNAS board, my goal is to contribute to a community that empowers scientists and scholars from underrepresented backgrounds. In addition, I aim to foster equity and inclusion to promote diversity in science through leadership and outreach.

OUTREACH COORDINATORS

RAYMOND ALVARADO

Email: [email protected]
Standing: 3rd year undergraduate
Major: Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
Minor: Biomedical Research
Research Interest: I currently conduct research in the Hilary Coller Lab, which focuses on the role of autophagy in cancer growth and proliferation. My work involves culturing autophagy-deficient macrophages and dendritic cells and measuring their relative cytokine expression levels compared to autophagy-proficient cells. This research helps to explore how autophagy influences immune cell behavior in the tumor microenvironment.
Why choose to be in SACNAS?: Being a first generation low income student it can be daunting to navigate higher education alone. Sacnas in particular helped me find a community of students with similar life experiences to me. This community has helped me feel supported here at UCLA and has helped me endlessly.

Finance Chair 

MATTHEW MEZA
​
Standing: 2nd year undergraduate
Major: Computatioal and Systems Biology
Minor: Biomedical Research

Graduate Representative

AILEEN NAVA

Undergraduate  Representative ​

​ISABEL WATSON

Email: [email protected]
Standing: 2nd year undergraduate
Major/Minor: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
Research Interest: I have worked in labs that study gene editing and x-chromosome inactivation, but I am also interested in studying genetic disorders (particularly osteogenesis imperfecta / brittle bone disease) and epigenetics.
Why choose to be on SACNAS board?: I am a staunch believer that there is strength in diversity, but unfortunately, I have noticed that the STEM fields are not that diverse. I want to help SACNAS continue its mission of inspiring those from underrepresented communities to take the leap into STEM, so that future generations can see more of that diversity and benefit from it.

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
​

 DIANA VACA

Email: [email protected]
Standing: 3rd year undergraduate
Research Interest: As an undergraduate, I have been working in Dr. Lily Wu’s lab. Our main focus is studying the effects of the cholesterol drug family, statins, on aggressive clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). My individual project stems from the discoveries we have made with ccRCC and is focused on another form of aggressive metastatic cancer, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Currently, I aim to see the effects of statins on cancer cells through different methods of analysis as well as determine the effectiveness of different statin derivatives. Additionally the goal of my study is also to analyze the mechanism of action that statins are taking in cancer in order to eventually contribute to targeted treatment through drug refinement. I have had the honor to participate in the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program here at UCLA for my remaining time as an undergraduate. Why choose to be in SACNAS: I remember going to the first general meeting my second year, and I really liked the environment and community that I found there. As a first generation chicana being at a top research university was never something that I had imagined for myself. Being able to be a part of an organization that aims to serve underrepresented people in science such as myself, is one of the ways that I can give back to my community while also making strides to increase the number of students aspiring to be scientists. SACNAS gives me the opportunity to go out and encourage underserved students while also serving as a source of information for the younger undergraduates that are a part of the club.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS

MATTIAS DE LOS RIOS ROGERS

Email: [email protected]
Standing: 4th year undergraduate
Research Interest: My research focuses on understanding the role that chromosomal instability and aneuploidy play in driving aggressive forms of cancer, particularly prostate cancer. In prostate cancer, aggressive forms of the disease such as neuroendocrine prostate cancer exhibit high levels of aneuploidy and this is correlated with poor prognosis. This leads us to hypothesize that chromosomal instability and the resulting aneuploidy are a factor driving the disease. Within my project, I am investigating if chromosomal instability can confer neuroendocrine cancers with increased drug resistance in in vitro studies, and I am using computational analysis of patient tumor transcriptomic data to investigate how aneuploidy effects prostate cancer.
Why choose to be on SACNAS board? In my first research experience I had an amazing mentor and lab colleagues who supported me in my learning and made me feel welcomed in science. In my role in SACNAS, I want to help foster diversity within the research community by helping everyone feel like there is a place for them within science.

​LUNA RODRIGUEZ

Email: [email protected]
Standing: Junior
Major: Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology & Anthropology
Research Interest: During my first two years as an undergraduate, I had the honor of participating in the PEERS program. It was during this time I was introduced to what research is and the enrichment it brings to the undergraduate experience. My research interests revolve around skin science, particularly skin cancer and chronic skin diseases. 
Why choose to be in SACNAS?: As a student from an underprivileged background, I've faced the challenges of navigating academia alone with little to no guidance. Finding a community that I can relate to and feel comfortable seeking advice from as I continue my academic journey has made pursuing a role in research less daunting. As a participating member of SACNAS, I am passionate about supporting others in their own academic efforts who may have felt the same way as I have.

SEDS REPRESENTATIVE
DR. ANGELICA CARDENAS

Email: [email protected]
Standing: Postdoctoral Scholar
PhD: Neuropharmacology
Department: Radiation Oncology
Research Interest: My research focuses on targeting non tumor-initiating (bulk tumor), cancer stem cell populations, and mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis, response to treatments, and treatment resistance in Glioblastoma Multiforme, an aggressive and devastating brain cancer.
Why choose to be on SACNAS board? Representation in higher education does not reflect the rich cultural diversity of Southern California. Despite the lack of STEM role models that looked like me growing up, I was able to thrive in academia with the support of my community on and off campus. Therefore, I aim to continue to help reduce barriers in education and research for underrepresented and disadvantaged groups through participation and building of community with SACNAS at UCLA.