A huge round of applause and thank you to everyone who competed in the Grad Slam preliminary rounds. The presentations were captivating and research topics are all truly impressive!

The results are in and we’re happy to announce the 2017 UCLA Grad Slam Semi-Finalists!

Rachel Bolanos, Epidemiology – DNA Blueprints and Biomarkers: Modeling HIV Related Cancer Cells

Chia-Hsin (Emily) Cheng, Community Health Science – Think, Eat, and Wellbeing: A Study of College Student Health

Taylor Corcoran, Anderson School of Management – Cancer vs. the Common Cold: Optimizing Drug Approvals

Joseph Garand, Education – Psychedelics Save Lives:  A Case Study

David Gonzalez, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science – Air Pollution, Free Radicals and Health

Hil Hsu, Epidemiology – Anal Cancer: Let’s Talk A’Butt It

Joey Lao, Engineering – IoT (Internet of Things) in Healthcare

Cindy Lee, Education – English Learners and Oral Language Anxiety: An Approach using LEGO® StoryStarter

Erin Leonard, Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences – Enceladus: Hot or Cold?

Nicholas Matiasz, Bioengineering – Building the Brain of a Robot Scientist

Matilde Miranda, Molecular Biology – Skin Deep: The Role of CREB in Hair Follicle Maintenance

Tiara Moore, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology – Exploring Eutrophication Driven Estuarine Acidification in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh

Carla Neuss, Theater, Film and Television – This is Your Brain on Medieval Theatre:  Applying Cognitive Science to the Study of Performance

Teresa Nguyen, Psychology – Marriage: Why Do Some Last While Others Fail?

Alexandra Polasko, Civil and Environmental Engineering – A Hero for Water: Detecting Beneficial Bacteria to Clean Pollutants

Robyn Price, Archaeology – An Archeology of Scent: Unearthing the Human Experience

Pradeep Rajendran, Molecular, Cellular, & Integrative Physiology – Neuromodulation as a Treatment for Cardiac Disease

Aliz Rao, Human Genetics – Discovering the Genetic Causes of Autism

Leslie Rith-Najarian, Psychology – Making Mental Health More Engaging and Accessible

Kaitlyn Sanborn, African Studies – Motivations for Refugee Violence in Africa’s Great Lakes Region

Jiming Sheng, Physics – Developing a Cure for AIDS by Modeling and Simulation

Mark Straccia, Psychology – Focus on This: Using Neurofeedback to Improve Attention

Nhu Tran, Nursing – Is Dysfunction in Brain Blood Flow the Mechanism of Injury and Developmental Delay in Newborns with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)?

Amanda Wagner, Environmental Health Sciences – Using Thin-Layer Sediment Placement to Help Coastal Wetlands Combat Sea Level Rise

Tyler Watson, Environmental Health Sciences – The Student Food Struggle

Gary Yeung, Electrical Engineering – Making Electronic Personal Assistants Listen to Children

Please come support these Grad Slammers when they present at the semi-final rounds on April 18th from 9-5 in Charles E. Young Research Library Room 1360 and the final competition on April 25th.