Josephine Gonzales

My name is Josephine Gonzales. I am a junior Cellular and Molecular Biology major at California State University San Marcos. I am Mexican American and a first generation college student. I will be earning my B.S. in Biology spring 2015. I was awarded the Minority Access to Research Careers Fellowship in the summer of 2013 and I am also a Louis-Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation scholar. I began research under the mentorship of Dr. Denise Garcia and Dr. Suzanne Hizer, identifying viral integration sites in the genome of Pacific Blue Shrimp. I was able to participate in a summer research program through the Leadership Alliance at the University of Miami under Dr. Rai’s Lab at the Miller school of Medicine. Under the guidance of Dr. Priyamvada Rai, I was able to validate genetic tools for suppressing major oxidative DNA damage-repairing proteins. I then presented this research at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conference for Minority Students 2013. I am working with Dr. Julie Jameson's investigating the impact of Everolimus on Peripheral Blood αβ and γδ T lymphocytes in Renal Transplant Recipients. I then presented this research at the symposium on student research creative activities and innovation at spring 2014. Recently, I did a poster presentation at the American Association for Immunologist conference. Apart from my research and academics, I was also a supplemental instruction leader for biostatistics. I have also participated in an alternative spring break trip volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. In addition, I participated in community service learning through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach. In the fall of 2014 I will be applying to PhD programs in Immunology and Medicine.