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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 & 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. 

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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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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.

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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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Scott Clark

Organic Chemistry

Scott Clark is an experienced synthetic organic chemist. Research in the Clark laboratory focuses on complex molecule synthesis.

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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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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.

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Karishma Johnson

Data Science and Ecology

Experienced statistician interested in using data analysis to understand complex systems relevant in environmental studies. 

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Prabhjeet Kaur

Genetics, Microbiology

Adjunct professor at Evergreen Valley College; experienced geneticist interested in studying fungi species dispersed throughout the SF Bay Area.

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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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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.

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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.

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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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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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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. 

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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.

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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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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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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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Avery Kruger

Ecology & Evolution

Ecologist and marine wildlife scientist with several years of research experience in ecology, evolution, and marine biology. 

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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.

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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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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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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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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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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.

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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.

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Kavya Tallapaka

Cancer Biology

Biochemist and COMET research fellow at Stanford University; experienced in biomedical research utilizing applied biochemistry and molecular biology.

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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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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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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). 

Staff & Facility Managers

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Sophia Linnevers

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Stephanie Ng

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Icela Bernal

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Jordan Bunnell

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Connor Adams

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Suresh Subramaniam

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Jesse Jen

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Bailey Maxwell

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Casey Rojas

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Neville Bosco

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Calvin Leung

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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Akira Yamamoto

Laboratory Manager,

Lab Hygeine &  Safety Coordinator

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