Meet our PREP Scholars

Raodatullah Abodunrin

Undergraduate Institution: Case Western Reserve University, 2023 (Ohio)
Area of Research: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
PREP Mentor: Michelle Ward, PhD / Assistant Professor / Dept of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Fun Fact: “I prefer the cold to the heat; I love the snow!”

Carmen Lopez-Alvarenga

Carmen Lopez-Alvarenga

Undergraduate Institution: Houston Christian University, 2023 (Texas)
Area of Research: Pharmacology and Toxicology
PREP Mentor: Katheryn Cunningham, PhD / Professor and Vice Chair / Dept of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Fun Fact: My favorite Movie is: The Holiday

Jaid Perez

Jaid Perez

Undergraduate Institution: Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, 2023 (Texas)
Area of Research: Microbiology and Immunology
PREP Mentor: Janice Endsley, PhD / Professor / Dept of Microbiology & Immunology and Pathology
Fun Fact: I love to hang out with my two dogs (Adaline and Miinaa) and cat (Bruno)

Ashley Viveros

Ashley Viveros

Undergraduate Institution: The University of Texas at El Paso. 2023 (Texas)
Area of Research: Microbiology and Immunology
PREP Mentor: Scott Weaver, MS PhD/ Professor / Dept of Microbiology and Immunology
Fun Fact: My favorite is: The Barbie Movie

Past PREP Scholars

Jose Menjivar

2021-2022

Jose Menjivar

Undergraduate Institution: Hunter College, 2021 (New York)
Area of Research: Population Health Sciences - Health disparities sciences, Affective Bias and Illness Identity on Depressive Symptoms
PREP Mentor: John D. Prochaska DrPH, MPH / Associate Professor / Population Health Sciences
Fun Fact: I make flowers using Polymer Clay

Florence Onyoni

2021-2022

Florence Onyoni

Undergraduate Institution: Sam Houston State University, 2021 (Texas)
Area of Research: Infectious Disease: Innate and adaptive immune responses against Leishmania parasites
PREP Mentor: Lynn Soong, MD, PhD / Professor Depts Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology; Program Director NIAID T35 Infectious Diseases Training Program Fun Fact: My current hobby is taking long walks on the beach and writing poetry

Reina Paez

2021-2022

Reina Paez

Undergraduate Institution: Oregon State University, 2021 (Oregon)
Area of Research: Infectious Diseases: Mechanisms of cell mediated immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis
PREP Mentor: Janice Endsley, PhD, Professor, Depts of Microbiology and Immunology and Pathology; Galveston National Lab
Fun Fact: When I’m not working in the lab, I enjoy playing tabletop games with friends

Zaniqua Bullock

Zaniqua Bullock

Undergraduate Institution: Jackson State University (Mississippi)
Area of Research: Neurobiology - High-throughput screening of small compounds via LCA to modulate sodium channel function
Mentor: Fernanda Laezza, PhD, Associate Professor, Director of Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Program

Victoria Flores

Victoria Flores

Undergraduate Institution: University of Texas at Dallas (Texas)
Area of Research: Cancer biology - Role of H2S and its effects on IL-8 in tumor angiogenesis
Mentor: Katalin Modis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept of Anesthesiology

Rodney Williams

Rodney Williams

Undergraduate Institution: Jackson State University (Mississippi)
Area of Research: Infectious Diseases - The Neurological Pathogenesis of Viral Infections, Related Pathological Dysfunctions, and Possible Treatment Options
Mentor: Alexander Freiberg, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept of Pathology, Galveston National lab

Karl Valerdi

Karl Valerdi

Undergraduate Institution: Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi (Texas)
Area of Research: Infectious Diseases - The role of Ubiquitination in SARS-COV-2 infection
Mentor: Ricardo Rasjbaum, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept of Microbiology and Immunology and Galveston National Lab

Kiana Herod

Kiana Herod

Undergraduate Institution: University of Houston - University Park, 2022 (Texas)
Area of Research: Disparities in Diabetes (Public Health)
PREP Mentor: Dan Jupiter, PhD / Associate Professor / Dept of Biostatistics & Data Science
Fun Fact: I love to read and hang out with my two pit bulls, Sassy and Emy!

Tehya Littleton

Tehya Littleton

Undergraduate Institution: Loyola University New Orleans, 2022 (Louisiana)
Area of Research: Neuroscience
PREP Mentor: Shelly Buffington, PhD / Assistant Professor / Dept of Neurobiology
Fun Fact: I really enjoy taking long drives.

Tina Nguyen

Tina Nguyen

Undergraduate Institution: California State University Long Beach. 2022 (California)
Area of Research: Microbiology and Immunology
PREP Mentor: Scott Weaver, MS PhD/ Professor / Dept of Microbiology and Immunology
Fun Fact: My favorite anime is My Hero Academia.

Dominique Ocampo