McNair Scholars

Scholars - Top Page

Image of Miguel Barron Miguel Barron
Majors: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Andy Alexander

Faculty Mentor's Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Interests: Neurological Disorders, Bioenergetics, Thermodynamics and Biomolecular reactions
Image of Andre Braga Andre Braga
Majors: Statistics and Data Science
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Yan Xifeng

Faculty Mentor's Department: Computer Science
Research Interests: AI and Large Language Models; training AI to learn and make accurate market predictions
Image of Mayra Canseco Mayra Canseco 
Majors: Sociology and Chicana/o Studies
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Kam

Faculty Mentor's Department: Communication
Research Interests: Undocumented immigrant responses to environmental disaster
Image of Chiara Cimarusti Chiara Cimarusti 
Major: Biological Sciences
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Matthieu Louis, Dr. Ron Keiflin

Faculty Mentors' Departments: Moleculer, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Interests: Virology, STEM cells, regenerative medicine
Image of Rocio Curiel Rocio Curiel 
Majors: Spanish and Linguistics
Minor: Translation and Interpretation Studies
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Daina Sanchez

Faculty Mentor Department: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Research Interests: Mixteco language revitalization among indigenous farm workers
Image of Lakshmi Garcia Lakshmi García
Major: Writing and Literature
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michelle Petty

Faculty Mentor Department: Writing and Literature in College of Creative Studies
Research Interests: MLRs (Math Education); Hispanic first-gen sibling storytelling's impact on education
Image of Andrea Gomez Andrea Gomez 
Major: Biology
Expected Graduation Date: March 2025
Faculty Mentor:
 Dr. Hilary Young
Faculty Mentor's Department: Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
Research Interests: Movement and foraging of terrestrial consumers within intertidal habitats
Image of Maritza Gomez Maritza Gómez
Majors: Sociology and Chicana and Chicano Studies
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Ralph Armbruster-Sandoval
Faculty Mentor's Department: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Research Interests: How mental health intersects with indigenous and Latinx communities
Image of Karen Gonzalez-Salazar Karen Gonzalez-Salazar 
Major: Sociology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: 
Dr. Daina Sanchez
Faculty Mentor's Department: Chicana and Chicano Studies Research Interests: How children of indigenous Mexican immigrants relate to their identity
Image of Natalie Guerrero Natalie Guerrero
Major: Religious Studies
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joseph Blankholm
Faculty Mentor's Department: Religious Studies
Research Interests: Religion & its exceptions to the law
Image of Mel Hidalgo-Garcia Melanie "Mel" Hidalgo-Garcia
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: TBD
Faculty Mentor's Department: TBD
Research Interests: Chicanas in education and the school to prison pipeline
Image of Evan Ho Evan Ho
Majors: Global Studies, Asian Studies, and History
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: TBD
Faculty Mentor's Department: TBD
Research Interests: Resource allocation in the broader East Asian region
Image of Citlali Ibarra Citlali Ibarra
Major: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Karen Szumlinksky
Faculty Mentor's Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Interests: mTOR inhibition in taming methamphetamine craving; neuroscience of addiction
Image of Jasmine Labastida Angeles "Jasmine" Labastida
Majors: Film and Media Studies, Pre-Sociology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laila Sakr
Faculty Mentor's Department: Film and Media Studies
Research Interests: Algorithms, digital decolonization in Latin America
Image of Briana Le Briana Le
Major: Aquatic Biology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Halley Froehlich
Faculty Mentor's Department: Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
Research Interests: Fisheries, aquaculture, and conservation of marine and freshwater ecosystems
Image of Laila LoRe Laila LoRe
Major: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Minor: Applied Psychology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Erika Felix
Faculty Mentor's Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Interests:Intra/interpersonal dynamics with respect to personality pathology; Dimensional assessment models and treatment for personality disorders; Developmental psychopathology
Image of Zeena Omer Zeena Omer 
Majors: Cultural Anthropology, Global Studies
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nadège Clitandre
Faculty Mentor's Department: Global Studies
Research Interests: Extractive colonialism and global capitalism in Africa and the Middle East
Image of Eliza Pasha Eliza Pasha
Major: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Daniel Conroy-Beam
Faculty Mentor's Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Interests: Evolutionary psychology of reproductive strategies
Image of Breeanna Pernas Breeanna Pernas
Major: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nolan Krueger
Faculty Mentor's Department: Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
Research Interests: Involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations in overpoliced communities
Image of Natalia Rodriguez Martinez Natalia Rodriguez Martinez
Major: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Miya Barnett
Faculty Mentor's Department: Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
Research Interests: Engagement in PCIT within Latino immigrant families
Image of Melissa Romero Melissa Romero 
Majors: Linguistics and Sociology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mayra Puente
Faculty Mentor's Department: Education
Research Interests: Rural Latinx student success and aspirations in STEM
Image of Isa Ruacho Isabel "Isa" Ruacho 
Major: Biopsychology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2025
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Barry Giesbrecht
Faculty Mentor's Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Interests: Vigilence decrement in measurements of performance
Image of Violeta Valdez=Samaniego Violeta Valdez-Samaniego
Major: Sociology
Minor: Applied Psychology
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elena Skapoulli-Raymond
Faculty Mentor's Department: Sociology
Research Interests: How social and economic differences impact mental health in Latinx communities