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Lauren Valdez

Neurosciences

Lauren Valdez
Lauren is a rising second year in the Neurosciences Graduate Program at UC San Diego. She has recently joined the Chaim lab and focuses on RNA damage and RNA binding protein dysfunction in result of oxidative damage in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). For her project she is attempting to identify where and how oxidative damage contributes to neuronal death. Outside of research, she is very dedicated to Colors of the Brain, a program ran by her and other UCSD graduate students, whose goal is to provide a pathway for underrepresented undergraduate students at UCSD to enter neuroscience research. She understands the importance of programs like these because Colors of the Brain is the exact program that aided her introduction to research in 2021. Throughout her graduate career, she wants to expand her contribution to the ALS community and underrepresented community to the broader San Diego region. In addition to the ARCS Foundation Fellowship (2024) she was also awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2023).