Continuing the Legacy in Women's Health Research.

Pictured here 6 of the 12 Howell-CSUPERB scholars: Posed: Standing (left to right) Matthew Siracusa, Matthew Dalphin, Sam Nguyen; Front (left to right) Lindsay Bradford, Nina Bubalo, Patricia Nguyen

Congratulations to the 2014 Howell-CSUPERB Scholars! 

CSUPERB recently presented the Howell - CSUPERB students that will be receiving scholarships to fund their undergraduate research in subjects related to women's health. CSUPERB reported that the CSU-Howell Foundation partnership resulted in the award of 12 scholarships from 7 different CSU universities, totaling $42,000. CSUPERB received 24 applications from students at 11 different CSU campuses. 

A strict protocol is followed in the choice of the students, including review of the students' scholarship applications, and quality of supervision during their research work. This supervision has become known as the "Mentor Program." It is the lifeline to the program's success. Each student must have a qualified mentor to direct and guide them.

The research subjects range from the most basic of life sciences such as cell biology to creating vaccines and testing altered immune reactions. Often the results of the student's research are presented at professional conferences or published in peer-reviewed journals, contributing to the community and the future of women's health nationwide through the advancement of cutting- edge of scientific knowledge.  

The 2014 CSUPERB-Howell Scholars are: 

1. Samariah Bautch (Biology, CSU Fresno) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Stability Engineering of Nanobodies for the Detection and Neutralization of LIsteria monocytogenes.” 
Mentor: Cory Brooks, Chemistry 

2. Lindsay Bradford (Microbiology, San Diego State University) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Contribution of Bacterial Fibrinogen Binding Glycoproteins to Streptococcal Colonization and Disease.” 
Mentor: Kelly Doran, Biology 

3. Amanda Brambila (Chemistry & Biochemistry, San Diego State University) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Compensatory Gene Expression in Neonatal Cardiocytes: Silencing Techniques.” 
Mentor: Paul Paolini, Biology & Computational Sciences 

4. Nina Bubalo (Psychology, San José State University) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Sex Differences in Cytokine Production and Macrophage Presence in Muscle Tissue in Response to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- Induced Inflammation.” 
Mentor: Katie Wilkinson, Biological Sciences 

5. Matthew Dalphin (Chemistry & Biochemistry, CSU Fullerton) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Investigating Copper-Containing Components of the Blood Plasma.” 
Mentor: Maria Linder, Chemistry and Biochemistry 

6. Jesse Garcia Castillo (Microbiology, CSU Los Angeles) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Role of Candida albicans yeast casein kinase I in 
governing the expression of secreted aspartyl protease required for initiating vulvovaginitis.” 
Mentor: Hyunsook Park, Biological Sciences 

7. Yen Luu (Biology, San Diego State University) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Adapting current Dengue virus assays to all serotypes through multiplexing to allow high through screening for potential inhibitors.” 
Mentor: Roland Wolkowicz, Biology 

8. Patricia (Nhi) Nguyen (Chemistry, CSU Long Beach) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Structural analysis and binding mechanism of 
apolipoprotein E cholesterol binding domain by fluorescence spectroscopy.” 
Mentor: Vasanthy Narayanaswami, Chemistry & Biochemistry 

9. Phuc Huu Ba (Sam) Nguyen (Biochemistry, CSU Long Beach) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “Use of a Novel Metal Binding Protein for Toxic Metal Remediation.” 
Mentor: Roger Acey, Chemistry & Biochemistry 

10. Cassandra Porter (Biochemistry & Pre-Nursing, CSU Chico) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “STI Testing, Sexual Behavior & Related Health Outcomes Amongst College Females.” 
Mentor: Lindsay Briggs, Health & Community Services/BSS  

11. Matthew Siracusa (Biology, CSU Fullerton) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “The effect of non-synonymous single nucleotide 
polymorphisms on the function of the human cytosolic 70-kDa heat shock protein, HSPA1A.” 
Mentor: Nikolas Nikolaidis, Biological Science/NSM 

12. Jodie Chih Ching Wu (Molecular Biology, San José State University) 
Award: $3,500 for the proposal titled “A Mutagenesis Screen to Identify Genes Required for Developmental Ethanol Response in Drosophila melanogaster.” 
Mentor: Rachael French, Biological Sciences

Please join us in wishing them all the success in their studies! 

For more information on how you can improve women's health via our scholarships, please visit www.howellfoundation.org.  

For information on CSUPERB (California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology) visit http://www.calstate.edu/csuperb.