The team | jimenezlab

“I like the scientific spirit—the holding off, the being sure but not too sure, the willingness to surrender ideas when the evidence is against them: this is ultimately fine—it always keeps the way beyond open—always gives life, thought, affection, the whole man, a chance to try over again after a mistake—after a wrong guess.”

-Walt Whitman

Principal Investigator

Dr. Veronica Jimenez

Associate Professor, California State University, Fullerton

Coordinator URISE at CalState Fullerton program

Contact:

Office: MH 307

Phone: 657-278-2477

Lab: DBH-124

Phone: 657-278-5271

Email: vjimenezortiz@fullerton.edu

Bio:

Dr. Jimenez obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Chile, Santiago, in 2006. Her doctoral work was focused on the effect of natural products as potential therapeutics against parasites. Then, she discovered the power of electrophysiological studies and started looking at their physiological roles in Trypanosoma cruzi. In 2007, she became a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, under Roberto Docampo's guidance. She continued working in ion channels and transporters in protozoan parasites, and in 2013 joined the Biological Science Department at CalState Fullerton. Since 2023, Dr. Jimenez is the coordinator of the URISE at CalState Fullerton training program, dedicated to increase preparedness and diversity in the Biomedical research fields.

Degrees:

PhD, Biomedical Science, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
MS,Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Juan Agustin Maza University, Mendoza, Argentina
BS, Pharmacy,Juan Agustin Maza University, Mendoza, Argentina

Courses Regularly Taught:

Intermediate and Advanced Cell Biology, Graduate seminar in Infectious Diseases, Mammalian Physiology, General Parasitology.

Research Team

Graduate Student

Angelica Lopez

Angelica has received her Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Cell and Developmental Science from California State University, Fullerton in May 2023. She has been in Dr. Jimenez's research laboratory and is continuing her Master's degree in the same laboratory. Angelica plans to continue work in the biotech industry after finishing her Master's degree.

Graduate Student

Gisselle Guerrero

Gisselle is a first generation Mexican America student; she has received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science, with a concentration in Cellular and Developmental Biology from California State University, Fullerton in May 2023. She is currently a Masters student at CSUF studying the Piezo1 channel in Trypanosoma cruzi parasite in Dr. Jimenez's research laboratory. She hopes the research she participated in at CSUF will help to discover a cure for Chaga's disease one day.

Outside of school, Gisselle loves to binge read her favorite book series and shows, listen to music, and enjoy time outdoors. Her goal in life is to be able to have a career in biology and go home and unwind with a good book.

Graduate Student

Merna Mahmoud

Merna has graduated with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biological Science from California State University, Fullerton in May 2023. She is currently pursuing her Master's Degree at CSUF and is involved research in Dr. Jimenez's laboratory.

Merna's hobby outside of school is capturing pictures of sunsets and getting her favorite drink, milk tea.

Graduate Student

Irin Ploypray

Irin has received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from the California State University, Fullerton in May 2023. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree while researching the TcPiezo 2 channel in Trypanosoma cruzi in Dr. Jimenez's research laboratory. After obtaining her Master's degree, Irin would like to pursue a career in the industry.

Irin's hobbies include playing Pokemon Go and spending time with Leo, her orange cat. Her favorite food is hot pot and anything spicy because she has a very high spice tolerance.

Undergraduate

Abigail Kamal

Abigail is a 4th year undergraduate and is pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Biological Science with a concentration in Cellular and Developmental Biology from the California State University, Fullerton. She is also pursuing a minor in Chemistry. She is currently the Laboratory Technician in Dr. Jimenez's laboratory and is vital in keeping the laboratory running smoothly.

In the future, Abigail hopes to graduate, pass the MCAT and apply to medical schools in hopes of becoming a physician.

Undergraduate

Jessica McLeavy

Jessica is an undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science, with a concentration in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. She is a volunteer in Dr. Jimenez's research laboratory, helping with Kinesin research in Trypanasoma cruzi. After graduation, Jessica would like to obtain a Master's degree and enter the field of industry researching vaccines for neglected infectious diseases.

On her own time, Jessica likes to cook, bake, read thriller novels, and spend time with her husband.

Alumni

Megna Tiwari

Megna received her BS in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology from UCR in 2014. While there, she was a part of a plant pathology lab for three years. While in the lab, Megna studied meiotic silencing in the fungus Neurospora crassa. She was also a part of WISER (Women in Science Engaging Riverside), which aims to educate women about careers in STEM. After graduating, she worked as a blood bank lab technician at LifeStream where she collected, labeled, prepared, and analyzed blood components for transfusions. Currently, she is pursuing her Master's degree in Cell and Molecular biology, and working under Dr Jimenez, she is characterizing the structural and functional aspects of TcMscS, a mechanosensitive channel in T. cruzi. She hopes to pursue a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology and Microbiology, and she hopes to continue to conduct research within the field of infectious diseases.

Monica Hernandez

Monica is originally from Bakersfield where she was born and raised. She received her BS from UCI in 2013. At UCI she worked in a microbiology lab where she studied the distribution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria from aquatic reservoirs. After graduating, Monica returned to Bakersfield where she worked as a chemist in a research and development department for a silicone manufacturing company, and she worked on several projects including developing silicone pressure-sensitive adhesives for the medical field. She enrolled at CSUF for her Master's degree in Molecular Biology, joining Dr Jimenez's lab where she could pursue her passion for working with infectious diseases. In the lab, Monica is characterizing the role of theT. brucei mechanosensitive channel, TbMscS, which shares high identity with its ortholog in T. cruzi. She hopes to return to private industry, following her graduation, to work in infectious disease control.

Heather Lynch

Heather received her undergraduate degree in biology at CSUF in 2016. As a junior undergraduate working in Dr. Jimenez' lab, she observed a phenomenon that proved so interesting she decided to turn her project into a master's thesis and continued her education at CSUF with Dr Jimenez as her thesis advisor. She is currently investigating how quorum sensing and surface recognition affect the induction of metacyclogenesis in T. cruzi. In her free time, she enjoys PC and tabletop gaming, as well as spending time with her dogs.

Christopher Ryan Skorka

Chris graduated from UCLA in 2015 with a BS in Physiological Science. As a graduate student in the Jimenez lab he specialized in physiology and electrophysiology of ion channels in T. cruzi. His thesis project specifically involves the characterization of a calcium activated potassium channel, including the biophysical properties of the channel through electrophysiological recording and using fluorometric analysis to see the physiological role the channel plays in the parasite.

Upon graduating with his Master's degree, he hopes to pursue a medical degree to start a career as a general practitioner or in emergency medicine and utilize his skills to take part in community medicine efforts both locally and abroad.

Tiffine Pham

Tiffine graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelors in Biological Sciences. Uncertain of what to do afterwards and with a passion for parasites, she sought out a job in a veterinary lab for a year working as a parasitology technician. She is currently a Masters student working on the mechanosensitive channels in bloodstream, forms of Trypanasoma brucei.

Daniel Arroyo

Daniel assists Dr. Jimenez in characterizing various channels found in Trypanosoma cruzi. By observing the phenotypic abnormalities in knock-out TcMscS mutants, he is assessing the importance of TcMscS in invasion of host cells. He is also assisting in verifying the location of a calcium activated potassium channel (TcCaKC) through the use of CRISPR. Daniel is currently working towards his bachelor’s in biology with an emphasis in cell and development while minoring in chemistry and psychology. He hopes to earn a medical degree and continue doing research on infectious diseases.

Kristy Ngyuen

Bio under construction

Daniel Gomez

Daniel began working for Connector Plating Corporation in 2014 as a metal plating operator, where he operated electrolytic and electroless plating machines, and he maintained plating baths in accordance to titration analysis. After graduating from El Camino College with an AS degree, he transferred to CSUF in the spring of 2017. That summer, he joined Dr Jimenez's lab. He is currently investigating quorum sensing mechanisms in T. Cruzi. He is expected to graduate in Spring 2019.

Joshua Fonbuena

Joshua is pursuing his BS in Biology with an emphasis in Molecular Biology, while also minoring in chemistry. He currently works in Dr Jimenez's laboratory where he investigates the differences in gene expression between wild type and mutant Trypanosomes. Using RNA sequencing, he is trying to understand the mechanisms of response to environmental conditions that influence the infectivity of the parasites. He is currently in the MARC program and is interested in pursuing a PhD in immunology and infectious diseases.

Kyle Foster

Kyle is majoring in Cell and Developmental Biology at CSUF. He is researching a mechanical sensitive channel in the pathogenic parasite Trypanosoma cruzi important for osmoregulation. He plans to to be a physician and has patient experience as an EMT. He enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and geocaching.

Marc Feldman

Marc graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a BS in cognitive science with a specialization in computing, and he finished his Pre-Health Post Baccalaureate Certificate at CSUF in 2017. In 2011, he joined the UCLA Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation lab where he served as a TMS technician, helped run fMRI imaging, and analyzed fMRI and EMG data. He was also a member of the UCLA Motor Control Lab where he helped design an imaging pilot study aimed at understanding dystonia, and he worked on data analysis for a dystonia patient outcome study. Now he helps with maintenance and organization of Dr. Jimenez's lab, aiding in the digitization of lab materials, information, and data.

Posters:

Elder A, Hershberg JA, Southam A, Patejak S, Johnson A, Feldman MS, Wu AD. Dystonia Outcomes, Functional Outcomes Research, and Interdisciplinary Treatment. Poster presented at: 3rd International Conference on Functional (Psychogenic) Neurological Disorders. 2017 Sep 6-8. Edinburgh, SCT.