Team

Diankai (Kai) Liu

Kai graduated from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences with a PhD in Analytical Chemistry. In his free time, he loves watching movies and working out.

liudiankai2023@g.ucla.edu

Cesar Garcia

Cesar graduated from San Diego State with a BS in Chemistry. Originally from Mexico, Cesar loves rock climbing, video games, sports, and playing guitar with his mariachi band.

cegarturo95@gmail.com

Anthony Spearman

Anthony graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BA in Chemistry in 2018. Originally from the city of Chicago, Anthony enjoys listening to music, watching TV, and looking at clouds.

anthony.l.spearman@gmail.com

Joseph Garcia

A life-long Californian, Joseph received his BS in chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. In his free time, he enjoys making music, playing video games, going to shows, and exploring the L.A. area.

josephg1@g.ucla.edu

Kaitlin Hartung

Kaitlin earned her BS in Biological Sciences, with a concentration in molecular and cellular biology, from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Outside of lab, she enjoys drinking coffee, hiking, and visiting her parents (and their many cats) in her hometown of Tulelake, California.

kaitlinhartung@chem.ucla.edu

Quintashia Wilson

Quintashia graduated with a BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Boston University in 2020. In her spare time she enjoys biking, running and creating delicious vegetarian meals.

qwilson@g.ucla.edu

Prairie Hammer

Prairie graduated from Tufts University in 2020, with a BS in biochemistry and a BA in Spanish. She is originally from Berkeley, and enjoys cooking elaborate vegetarian meals, running, and reading murder mysteries.

prairiehammer@chem.ucla.edu

Paige Kotowitz

Paige graduated from Union College in 2018 with a BS in Chemistry and a minor in Psychology. Before starting graduate school, she worked at a nanotechnology company as a research associate. Outside of lab, Paige enjoys hiking, running, and exploring LA restaurants.

paige.kotowitz@chem.ucla.edu

Eric Lin

Eric graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Chemistry with Biology concentration. In his free time, he enjoys exploring new restaurants, eating sweets, going to the gym, and making music. Eric is also our resident boba connoisseur.

EYLin@mednet.ucla.edu

Helen Lin

Helen graduated from Hamilton College with a BA in Chemistry in 2019. Before starting her PhD, she worked for the Xavier Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital as a research associate. Originally from Lubbock, Texas, she enjoys playing outdoor sports, visiting breweries and meeting dogs.

hhlin@g.ucla.edu

Emily Mobley

Emily graduated from Cal Poly SLO with a MS in Polymers and Coatings Science in 2020, and a BS in Biochemistry with a Nutrition minor in 2019. She is from Napa, CA, and enjoys taking her dog on outdoor adventures, surfing, and rock climbing.

emilybrimobley@chem.ucla.edu

Ethan Ng

Ethan graduated from Sonoma State University in 2021 with a BS in Biochemistry. In his free time, he enjoys working out, listening to history podcasts, and reading sci fi novels.

ethan.ng@chem.ucla.edu

Katie Zhu

Katie graduated from the University of Toronto in 2021 with a BS in Chemistry. Outside of the lab, she enjoys swimming, hiking and learning how make different types of coffee.

katiezhu@g.ucla.edu

Devon Stuart

Originally from Florida, Devon graduated from Amherst College in 2022 with a BA in biochemistry and biophysics. Outside of the lab, he likes to play ultimate frisbee and ski.

devonstuart@chem.ucla.edu

Luigi Alde

Originally from the Philippines, Luigi grew up in Vancouver, Canada and graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BSc in Chemistry in 2023. Outside the lab, Luigi likes to cook and touch grass by playing golf and going on hikes.

lgalde@chem.ucla.edu

Jesus Hernandez

Jesus earned his BS in Biochemistry and MS in Chemistry from Cal State Northridge. In his free time he enjoys running, hiking and camping with his wife and fur babies (Kiara and Nova).

hernanja93@g.ucla.edu

Lin-Jiun (Maggie) Chen

Lin-Jiun (Maggie) is a MACS student working with Quintashia. She graduated from University of Taipei in 2021 with a BS in Applied Physics and Chemistry, and MS in Applied Science. In her free time, she loves to try different types of outdoor activities including surfing, snowboarding and bouldering.

linjiun@chem.ucla.edu

Neel Fulton

Neel is a 3rd year Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology major working with Eric. Originally from Palo Alto, CA, he enjoys running, playing spikeball, and drinking boba.

Jon Gaffney

Jon is a 4th year Biochemistry major working with Ethan. He first became interested in research after taking Prof. Sletten’s Chemical Biology course at UCLA. Aside from conducting experiments in the lab, Jon is from La Jolla, California and loves playing basketball, beach volleyball, backpacking, hiking, and reading.

Ella Ghazinouri

Ella is a 3rd year Chemistry major working with Emily. Originally from San Francisco, she enjoys reading, cooking, and listening to music. Ella is also our resident Yerba Mate tea connoisseur.

Nika Gladkov

Nika is a 4th year Biochemistry major working with Prairie. She is originally from the Bay Area and enjoys reading, going to art galleries, and taking walks.

Sangeeta Kelkar

Sangeeta is a 3rd year Biochemistry major working with Katie. She is originally from Sacramento and enjoys hiking, going to concerts, and painting. Outside of the lab, she is also in a UCLA dance club.

Ashley Mendez

Ashley is a 4th year Chemistry major working with Joseph. In her free time, she loves kayaking, hiking and exploring new art museums around the LA area.