Bryce Manso, PhD, Chair
Biomolecular Engineering Department
Cristina Flores-Arenas, PhD, Vice Chair
Department of Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
Cristina is a postdoc in the Carpenter Lab.
Gerrald Lodewijk, PhD, Symposium Co-Chair
Biomolecular Engineering (BME)
Gerrald is a postdoc in the Shariati Lab.
Brian Mullen, PhD, Symposium Co-Chair
Department of Molecular Cell Developmental Biology
I'm part of the Feldheim Lab. My research interests are to understand molecular and activity-dependent mechanisms underlying the development of neural systems. Specifically, how genes or environmental experience change neuronal plasticity and circuit formation, thus furthering our current understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Oskar Elek, PhD, Social Event Coordinator
Computer Science and Computational Media departments
Oskar has been a member of the Creative Coding Lab since 2019, and an OSPO Incubator Fellow since 2021. His work uses nature inspired simulation to reconstruct and visualize network phenomena in astrophysics and beyond.
Oskar's goal at USPA is to bring the postdoc community closer together through activities like beach parties, biking and hiking trips, or visits to local breweries. If you have an idea for a fun event, you can reach him at oelek@ucsc.edu.
Richard Dickson, PhD, Social Event Coordinator
Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology.
Jean Monlong, PhD, Secretary
Department of Biomolecular Engineering
I'm a postdoc in the Paten Lab working on pangenome, which we hope will be the next iteration of the reference genome for which UCSC played a big role 20 years ago. The reference pangenome will be more representative by integrating diverse individuals and known variation. Before that I did my PhD in Montreal (Canada), and Masters split between Grenoble (France) and Barcelona (Spain). At USPA, I was co-chair of the symposium that never happenened (COVID/COLA) and I'm in charge of the website/twitter. Like any good Frenchman, I love bread.
Alka Gupta, PhD, Treasurer
Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental biology
At the Sharma lab we work to investigate and understand the somatic to germ cell or soma-germline interaction and its role in paternal epigenetic inheritance. I work to understand how environmental and external stress can alter the growth and development of the next generation via alterations in the sperm small RNA profile. I enjoy cooking and long walks.
Kelly Vasbinder, PhD, Chair of USPA Development
Ocean Sciences Department
Hi, I’m Kelly Vasbinder, a Post-Doc in Jerome Fiechter’s lab in the Ocean Sciences Department here at UCSC. My research interests are in population and ecosystem modeling of fisheries species. I am especially interested in early life stages of fish, and how we can better represent the dynamics of larval and juvenile stages in models. My dissertation work was on larval growth and transport in the Gulf of Mexico, and my current Post-Doc research focuses on the outmigration of juvenile salmon and their predator-prey interactions off of central California.
Alison Mills, PhD, Secretary
Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
Alison is a postdoc in the Sullivan Lab. She studies mechanisms of preserving genomics integrity using Drosophila as a model system. Her hobbies include playing video games and reading.
Saran Chattopadhyaya, PhD, Board Member
I joined UCSC in April 2022 as a postdoc in Dr. Camilla Forsberg's Lab. In 2023, I joined the USPA as a board member. When not in the lab, I enjoy my time with friends, watching movies, and hiking. Three famous words in my life (till now) - Research, Eat and Drink.
Jennifer Ott, PhD, Symposium Co-Chair