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Three School of Natural Sciences' Graduate students took part in this year's UC Merced Grad Slam competition. Chemistry and Biochemistry student Adekunle Adewole won the chance to compete at the UC Systemwide Grad Slam.
Here are the School of Natural Science students who competed in the local Grad Slam:
Adekunle Adewole
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Kunle's research focuses on designing sequence-programmable peptide materials with predefined 3D geometries using peptide macrocycles that leverage the coiled-coil protein fold. By harnessing the biological nature of these materials, his work enables applications in medicine and biosensing, particularly in targeted drug delivery.
Zachary Malone
Environmental Systems
Zachary studies how we can use organic wastes (like food waste and yard scraps) as a resource by creating compost from them and applying it to urban soils. Zachary specifically looks at how compost impacts soil carbon, an important property for soil quality and climate change, as well as soil nitrogen, which is vital for plant growth.
Laura Lopez
Quantitative and Systems Biology
Laura's research explores how the immune system detects and responds to Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that lives inside host cells. She discovered that a protein called STING, typically known for sensing DNA in the cell, plays a key role in helping immune cells (CD8+ T cells) produce interferon-gamma (IFNγ), which is essential for fighting the infection. Surprisingly, STING carries out this function without its usual DNA-sensing partner, revealing a new pathway that could improve our understanding of immune defense against intracellular parasites.
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