Alexander is 4th year Health Science major with a concentration in global health. He is currently interested in epidemiology, coding, and public health. Through the program, he hopes to be introduced to the many areas of big data science. After graduation, he plans on attending graduate school and eventually applying to doctoral programs. His research interests include Alzheimers disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases. He hopes that through the program he will gain a foundation of topics that will help him further in his career as a scholar and researcher.
Cydney is a 3rd year Health Science major and Kinesiology minor at Cal State Fullerton. Her research aims to study the effects of nutrition on cancer, specifically breast cancer in minority populations. Upon graduation she plans to further her education and earn her masters, and continue on to a Ph.D. program in dietetics. Her career goals include sitting for the Registered Dietitian exam and working in a hospital designing specific meal plans for current and recovering cancer patients to help improve their current conditions. She also wants to develop programs and educational workshops to educate patients on how to tailor nutrition to their specific needs.
Kelley is currently in the second semester of her junior year at California State University of Fullerton. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology with the concentration of Molecular and Biotechnology. The overall goal is to conduct advanced research, to earn a Ph.D. Her research interests include bioinformatics, targeted disease treatments, immunology and big data science. Kelley believes being involved with Big Data and the BD3-REAP program at CSUF will show her the increased importance of Big Data scientist and hopes to share this with others.
Melissa is a senior with majors in Mathematics and Computer Science, and a minor in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Through BD3-REAP, she hopes to learn more about applications of math and technology to health science and biology. Her current research investigates the relationship between fungal infection, mating, and survival in Drosophila melanogaster. Her research interests include data science and bioinformatics. After graduation, Melissa plans to pursue a graduate degree.
Nayelie Benitez is a junior with a major in Health Science and a minor in Gerontology. She has had the opportunity to participate as a research assistant at the Center for Health Neighborhoods, alongside Dr. Jessie Jones and Dr.Maria Matza.Her participation as a research assistant has allowed her to utilize her class based knowledge and apply it to help out some of Fullerton’s most vulnerable communities. Her experiences have led her to want to further pursue a Ph.D. in Public Health, possibly with a concentration in Public Health Policy or Epidemiology.
Her career goals are to work for organizations that target underserved communities, specifically low- income families. Her healthcare background has also has had an impact on her interest to work on improving access to healthcare through the use of Big Data. She looks forward to how her involvement in BD3 Reap will help her gain the skills and knowledge required to fulfill her career goals. At a later stage in her career, she also hopes to pursue teaching at an institution of higher learning and mentor the next generation of scholars.
Noor is a third year student studying Cell and Developmental Biology and minoring in mathematics with an emphasis on statistics. In the future, Noor plans on conducting her own projects in a biostatistics specific field, and strengthening her R programming skills to write mathematical models to analyze biological and cellular data. Noor is passionate about Neuroscience and is fascinated by the integration of various scientific disciplines in studying the brain and nervous system. The complexity in how information at the cellular level gives rise to higher cognitive function is deeply intriguing to her and a field of study that Noor wants to contribute to. Additionally, she wishes to familiarize herself with the fMR neuroimaging, and investigate questions involving the intricate neuronal networks of the brain. Noor aspires to master the various tools in studying big data, and further her passion for neuroscience research through attaining a PhD.
