Congratulations to our Graduates!

Congratulations to Andrew Chang, Brenden Yee, Stephanie Wong, David Ha, and Farooq Mir! They will all be graduating this June from the University of California, Irvine with Bachelors degrees. Andrew, Brenden, Farooq and David will be earning their degrees in Biological Sciences. Stephanie will be earning her dual degrees in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry as well as Biomedical Engneering. Stephanie will be pursuing her career in medicine. Farooq is currently applying to the UCI Biotech Masters Program. Andrew will be a masters in public health (MPH). David will be going abroad to teach English in Japan. Brenden will be pursuing postbac programs to advance to medical school. Over their stay in lab, they have made various contributions in their own right. We will miss them very much and wish them the best in their future endeavors!

Stephanie Wong Accepted to SUNY Buffalo Medical School: Congratulations!

Congratulations to Stephanie Wong on being admitted to SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine! Stephanie found out yesterday and one could tell by her enthusiasm when she walked in to lab...or practically flew in! We are all so proud of you Stephanie, and wish you the best in your pursuit of medicine. Stephanie is still waiting on Cincinnati, but now she knows she is definitely pursuing her medical ambitions. Stephanie, is a very diligent, competent, bright and promising individual. Her wonderful personality and her high standards will be a serious asset to the institution she will join. We say that from experience of having her in lab. The situation however is bittersweet, because she will be graduating this year, and so we will not have the pleasure of having Stephanie with us for more than a couple of weeks. I geuss we will have to make the best of what little time we have left with her by making her work as much as possible, as hard as possible, to produce as much high quality data as she always has been...you are probably waiting anxiously to find the "just kidding part" of this statement...well geuss what...MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! LOL!!! Congratulations again Stephanie, you made it, your success is something we all celebrate!

Congratulations EJ on your first RIP in lab!

On May 22, EJ delivered his first research in progress (RIP) presentation since joining the Casali Lab. Research in progress presentations are usually done twice in a graduate student's career to demonstrate to his faculty and fellow graduate students, the progress being achieved towards a research goal. In answering a question posed by one of the attending professors, EJ stated that he aims to keep his research goals "ambitious enough, but not overly ambitious such that it is unrealistic" which drew approval from the faculty. In the words of some of the attendees, his research projects are truly ambitious and realistic and it would be interesting to see his next RIP to see the results of the proposed studies. Unlike most graduate students, EJ has the unique experience of a chemistry background, and a biochemistry background from previous research experiences here at UCI and at the University of Miami where he completed his undergraduate degree. On reflecting on the overall direction of his research EJ plans on focusing his work towards a central project on which to base his thesis. His involvement with various projects around the lab have given him a firm foundation in the workings of the lab. We are lucky to have someone with his level of expertise and ambition, which we are sure will contribute greatly to the success of our research group.

UROP Symposium 2007

On Saturday, May 12, 2007 UCI held its annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. With a record turnout of over 500 student presenters from all walks of academia with accompanying faculty members, administrators, friends and family, this was one of the largest and most successful symposium yet. One of the student presenters was the Casali Lab's own Brenden Yee who presented his project on the role of PI3K in somatic hypermuation and class switch DNA recombination.
Brenden was one of the few students to present both and oral and poster presentation. His family was also on hand to support Brenden throughout the day as he presented his work including, his mother, sister and brother. Since I was helping organize the event, it was my pleasure to see one of our own lab members presenting the culmination of his hardwork and dilligence. Above is a picture of Brenden and I behind his poster. Congratulations to Brenden on a successfully presenting his work and making all of us truly proud!