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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

Leadership & Administration

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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Chair of CS & Engineering

Robert Downing

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. 

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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.

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Chair, Biological & Life Sciences

Sahar Jahanikia

Experienced neuroimaging researcher and data analyst with knowledge in Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Behavioral Sciences, Design Thinking, and Bioinformatics.

OCF Board of Directors

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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.

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Board Member

Sara Mithra

Sara completed her undergraduate studies at UC Santa Cruz and a Master's degree at UC Berkeley in literature and creative writing.

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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. 

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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.

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Research Investigators

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Robert Downing

Data Science, Machine Learning, Applied Engineering, & Astrophysics

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. 

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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.

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Clinton Cunha

Bioinformatics

Clinton has a Masters in Bioinformatics (University of Guelph) and a Masters of Science in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (University of Ottawa). He also has an Honors Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences (Carnegie Mellon University). His main areas of focus include Bioinformatics, Data Analysis, Python programming, Biology, Science, Cancer Research and ESL. Professionally, Clinton is a qualified Bioinformatician/Biologist/Instructor. 

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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. 

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Soumya Suresh

Ecology & Environmental Science

Soumya is an experienced biologist and scientist interested in applying the tools of genetics and molecular biology to study ecological and botanical systems. She is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and the University of Oregon, where she obtained her master's degree in Environmental Studies. She has worked in research and field labs at the undergraduate and graduate level in academia, as well as in industry. Ms. Suresh's Environmental Science groups deal with conservation issues with plants and wildlife. Our groups employ various scientific collection and analysis methods such as molecular biology, field data collection, lab specimen growth and care, and permit application.

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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.

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Connor Adams

Ocean Science

Connor is a graduate of U.C. Santa Cruz with an M.S. in ocean science and a B.S. in environmental science. His research experience includes fisheries management of Belize’s spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), and aggression/fecundity in mangrove rivulus fish (Kryptolebias marmoratus). 

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Raymond Chen

Analytical Chemistry

Raymond is a former scientist at Thermo Scientific and at Twist Biosciences. The Chen lab at ASDRP uses high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine stability of pharmaceutical entities.

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Tracy Zhang

Cancer Biology & Oncology

Dr. Zhang holds a PhD in biomedical sciences and has coauthored over twenty publications in precision oncology and molecular cancer biology.

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Michael Amadi

Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology

Former UCSF scientist and founder of Jikoro sciences, Michael is a scientist who is interestede in the interface of biotechnology and synthetic biology. The Amadi lab at ASDRP works on projects related to genomics, metabolomics, and biotechnology / bioengineering.

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Prabhjeet Kaur

Microbiology & Genetics

Prof. Prabhjeet Kaur graduated from CSU Bakersfield with an MS in Microbiology and a BS in Biology with an emphasis in Microbiology. She has been a full-time Microbiology Instructor at COS Visalia. I have been teaching college level biology courses for the last 5 years, and Prof. Kaur is currently an adjunct Anatomy Professor at EVC San Jose. Her thesis research included work on Coccidioides immitis, the causative agent of valley fever in the Northwestern Mojave Desert, and the Kaur lab here at ASDRP is interested in a variety of ecological-microbiological scientific questions.

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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. 

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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.

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Omar Amer

Civil Engineering

Dr. Amer holds a PhD in civil engineering from Clemson University and is interested in developing next-generation green materials for carbon-sequestration.

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Harman Brah

Computational & Structural Biophysics

Experienced biochemist at UCSD Medicine; former scientist at UCSF who specializes in computational biochemistry & drug discovery. Oversees admissions process.

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Martin Kushnerov

Computational & Structural Biophysics

Martin received his MSc in Medical Genetics and Genomics at University of Glasgow and BS in Human Biology at UC San Diego. His main area of focus is in genetic and epigenetic regulation in biological systems, with previous experience studying viral genetics and genomics. His research group at ASDRP works on the interface of data-based genomics and genetics.

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Neelima Sangeneni

Physical & Electrochemistry

Dr. Sangeneni holds a PhD in nanomaterial chemistry, and has been involved in several successful startups in the Bay Area. The Sangeneni Lab at ASDRP works on the interface of physical chemistry & nanomaterials engineering.

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Pragati Dharmale

Electrical Engineering

Prof. Pragati Dharmale has 12 years of academia / industry research experience and received her M. Eng in Digital electronics and M.S. in computer science from Southern New Hampshire University, NH.  Her research interest includes application of EEG analysis with machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as STEM based applications designed for Raspberry PI with Python programming.

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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.

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Suresh Subramaniam

Data Science 

Seasoned executive and data scientist with experience in managing large operations and applying data science to solve business problems.

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Joseph Laurienzo

Applied Mathematics

Joseph holds an M.S. in applied physics from Case Western University, and is an ambitious scientist interested in using mathematical models to understand physical and biological phenomena.

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Bharat Poudyal

Biotechnology & Agronomy

Dr. Poudyal, a native of Nepal, received his PhD in Agronomy from the University of Hebei and MS degree from the University of Edinburgh. He is interested in the convergence of plant cell culture, community-based agriculture, and science-informed plant biology that enables new developments in human health. 

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Staff & Facility Managers

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Jordan Bunnell

Administrative Manager, laboratory facilities

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Sophia Linnevers

Website and Communications Manager

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Dayanna Chavez

Lab Staff

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Casey Rojas

Laboratory Manager, Tissue Culture & Cancer Biology

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Niel McMahan

Information Technology (IT) & Computing Cluster Manager

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Tuyen Tran

Lab Staff

Former Faculty Advisors

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Kavya Tallapaka

Cancer Biology

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Nardeen Mikhail

Microbiology

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Karishma Johnson

Data Science and Ecology

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Asmita Dani

Electrical Engineering, RF Physics

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Nicholas Papano

Computer Science and Engineering

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Avery Kruger

Ecology and Evolution

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Scott Clark

Organic Chemistry

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Carly Truong

Molecular Neuroscience 

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Ankur Gupta

Molecular and Cell Biology

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Calvin Leung

Quantum Mechanics and Physics

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Sam Fendell

Machine Learning, Software

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