Who we are:
We are scientists and engineers. We are real people with real experience in real research. And we are brought together every year with a common passion for STEM and a common goal of bringing out the best for the high school students we mentor.
Leadership & Administration
Director of Operations
David Linnevers
Over two decades of experience in working in higher education administration and admissions at institutions such as UCLA Medical School.
Director of Research & Development
Edward Njoo
Experienced organic chemist, educator, scientist, and Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. Co-author on multiple peer-reviewed papers in biochemistry, chemical biology, and organic synthesis.
Director of Educational Outreach
Ankur Gupta
Graduate of U.C. Berkeley, current M.D. candidate at Louisville. Experienced molecular and cell biologist passionate about translational science and biomedical education.
Board Member
Phil Mui
Phil Mui, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President of Technology in Salesforce, and of the Office of the CTO. He received his S.B., M.Eng., and Ph.D. from MIT, and an M.Phil as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford.
Director of Admissions
Jimmy Qian
Current M.D. candidate at Stanford Medical School, several years of research experience in theoretical systems biology. Holds an M.S. in Chemistry, B.A. in Biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Chair of CS & Engineering
Four decades of experience in the high-tech and data systems industry (3COM, IBM, etc.) and as a professor and instructor at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Visit the Downing Research website.
Director of Communications
Avery Kruger
Ecologist and marine wildlife scientist with extensive research experience in ecology, evolution, and marine biology. Avery has previously been editor in chief of our student journal.
Chair, Biological & Life Sciences
Soumya Suresh
Experienced biologist and scientist interested in applying the tools of genetics and molecular biology to study ecological and botanical systems.
OCF Board of Directors
Board President
Joni Jen
Educator and founder of Olive Children Foundation with over a decade of experience in education and in community service in the Fremont and greater East Bay Area.
Board Member
Tammy Long
Tammy holds a Master's of Education from CSU East Bay and a Master's in Christian Formation from North Park Seminary.
Board Member
Edward Njoo
Experienced organic chemist, educator, scientist, and Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. Co-author on multiple peer-reviewed papers in biological and organic chemistry.
Research Investigators
Robert Downing
Data Science & Macine Learning
Four decades of experience in the high-tech and data systems industry (3COM, IBM, etc.) and as a professor and instructor at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Phil Mui
Computer Science
Phil Mui, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President of Technology in Salesforce, and of the Office of the CTO. He received his S.B., M.Eng., and Ph.D. from MIT, and an M.Phil as aa Marshall Scholar at Oxford.
Ankur Gupta
Molecular & Cell Biology
Graduate of U.C. Berkeley, current M.D. candidate at Louisville. Experienced molecular and cell biologist passionate about translational science and biomedical education.
Avery Kruger
Ecology & Evolution
Ecologist and marine wildlife scientist with several years of research experience in ecology, evolution, and marine biology.
Soumya Suresh
Genetics & Environmental Studies
Experienced biologist and scientist interested in applying the tools of genetics and molecular biology to study ecological and botanical systems.
Clinton Cunha
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatician, biologist, and instructor who knows how to deal with different types of biological data to derive meaningful relationships using Python, SAS, R and Unix.
Andrew Benson
Marine Biology
Marine Biologist and researcher interested in the effects of ocean acidification and warming on Zostera marina and on the seagrass epifauna.
Karishma Johnson
Data Science and Ecology
Experienced statistician interested in using data analysis to understand complex systems relevant in environmental studies.
Prabhjeet Kaur
Genetics, Microbiology
Adjunct professor at Evergreen Valley College; experienced geneticist interested in studying fungi species dispersed throughout the SF Bay Area.
Jack Shurtz
Marine Biology & Oceanography
Marine biologist with a passion for mentoring students. Studied and trained at the Scripps Institute for Oceanography in San Diego.
Nardeen Mikhail
Microbiology
Ms. Mikhail holds an M.S. in microbiology and has taught at the undergraduate level for several years. Her research interests focus on mycotoxin-producing fungi that cause food spoilage.
Nicholas Papano
Computer Science & Engineering
Software engineer with enthusiasm for making mechanical products to improve the human quality of life. The Papano group has engineered everything from turbine blades to keyboards.
Peter Le
Molecular & Cell Biology
UCLA graduate, and current Stanford scientist interested in understanding human health from the perspective of single-celled organisms using the tools of modern molecular biology.
Akira Yamamoto
Biomaterials Engineering
Akira received his M.Sc. from Shinsyu University in Materials Engineering and has served as the Director of Materials Science & Engineering at BioPharmX prior to coming to ASDRP. The Yamamoto group at ASDRP performs research in biomaterials engineering.
Calvin Leung
Quantum Mechanics & Physics
Former engineer on Falcon 9 at SpaceX, and currently pursuing a PhD at MIT in studying fast radioburst signals, quantum communication, and searching for dark matter with atomic clocks.
Asmita Dani
Electrical Engineering, RF Physics
Dr. Dani holds a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado. Her research expertise straddles the bounds of EE and radiofrequency physics.
Larry McMahan
Quantum Physics
Dr. McMahan holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from Rice, and has four decades of experience in industry (Hewlett-Packard) and in academia as a professor.
Edward Njoo
Organic & Medicinal Chemistry
Experienced organic chemist, educator, scientist, and Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University. Co-author on multiple peer-reviewed papers in biochemistry, chemical biology, and organic synthesis.
Joshua Teso
Psychology
Graduate of UC San Diego, experienced experimental psychologist interested in understanding phenomena surrounding human memory.
Scott Clark
Organic Chemistry
Scott Clark is an experienced synthetic organic chemist. Research in the Clark laboratory focuses on complex molecule synthesis.
Harman Brah
Computational & Structural Biophysics
Experienced biochemist at UCSD Medicine; former scientist at UCSF who specializes in computational biochemistry & drug discovery. Oversees admissions process.
Nancy Hutner
Psychology
Ph.D. in Psychology from Boston University. Several decades of teaching experience as a psychology professor at Holyoke Community College. Extensive experience in psychology research, including postdoctoral work at the Laboratory of Neuropsychology at the Boston University School of Medicine.
Nilai Patel
Physical & Electrochemistry
Graduate of UCSC, and currently a materials scientists interested in electrochemical engineering for water oxidation catalysis, next-generation solar cells, and spectroscopic/instrumental analysis.
Gayathri Renganathan
Medicinal Biochemistry
Gayathri obtained her M.Pharm at Anna University and has served as a lecturer in Inorganic & Analytical Chemistry, and in her area of expertise, medicinal biochemistry.
Sahar Jahanikia
Neuroimaging, Bioinformatics
Experienced neuroimaging researcher and data analyst with knowledge in Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Behavioral Sciences, Design Thinking, and Bioinformatics. Extensive experience in designing, collecting, and analyzing state of art neuroimaging studies using all forms of modality (fMRI, NIRS, EEG, simultaneous EEG-fMRI). Co-author of multiple neuroimaging research papers.
Sam Fendell
Machine Learning, Software
UC Berkeley graduate with several years experience as a software engineer at Google and Amazon. Interested in using machine learning to classify and analyze real-world problems.
Carly Truong
Molecular Neuroscience
Graduate of the American University; experienced neurobiologist with an eye for using cell biology and biotechnology to solve challenging biomedical problems.
Kavya Tallapaka
Cancer Biology
Biochemist and COMET research fellow at Stanford University; experienced in biomedical research utilizing applied biochemistry and molecular biology.
Kavita Gandhi
Organic Chemistry & Biochemistry
Dr. Gandhi holds an M.S. in Biomedical Science and an M.D., and is interested in pursuing challenging topics in modern medicine through translational research in chemistry.
Suresh Subramaniam
Data Science
Seasoned executive and data scientist with experience in managing large operations and applying data science to solve business problems.
Katelyn Hakinson
Clinical Psychology
PhD candidate and M.S. graduate at Palo Alto University in clinical psychology with an emphasis in forensic and neuropsychology.
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