Symposium / Conference / Workshop

Mentors:  Al Latif, MS and Gabi Fragiadakis, PhD 
Alexis is a rising Senior at UC Davis majoring in Statistics with an emphasis in machine learning and bioinformatics. They hope to graduate next year and stay in research, preferably at UCSF. When not working, they love martial arts and listening to podcasts.

Mentor: Natasha Ludwig-Barron, PhD, MPH

Kaya is a rising second year MPH in Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology student at UC Berkeley. She is originally from Denver, CO and has lived in San Francisco for 3 years and is proud to call it home! During the CFAR Scholars program, she worked with Dr. Natasha Ludwig-Barron on cleaning and the statistical analyses of cross-sectional data from a population of PWID in Ciudad Juarez, and is looking forward to more epidemiological work in her future.

Mentor: Sophia Zamudio-Haas, DrPH, MSc

Kristel is a rising senior at UC Berkeley, double majoring in Public Health and Psychology. Originally from Peru, she immigrated to the U.S. five years ago and brings a deep understanding of the structural challenges that many communities face in accessing quality healthcare. Her academic and professional interests focus on reproductive health, infectious diseases, and health justice. Kristel joined the CFAR Scholars Program because of its mission to support people living with HIV and its commitment to addressing health inequities through research. Her experience includes conducting research on neglected tropical diseases—specifically Chagas disease—with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), working as a doula for immigrant patients, and leading educational outreach for Spanish-speaking families. She aspires to become an OB-GYN and physician-researcher, combining clinical practice with public health research to improve maternal and adolescent health outcomes in underserved communities.

Mentor: Rachel Rutishauser, MD, PhD

 Lilly is a master’s student at San Francisco State University, conducting research in the Sehgal Lab on avian parasitology and virology, with a focus on bird malaria. Raised in the East Bay and rooted in Iranian and Armenian heritage, Lilly developed a passion for HIV research as an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara after taking a freshman-year course on AIDS and the immune system. She aims to pursue a PhD exploring HIV cure strategies or the virus’s effects on the brain, with the long-term goal of building a career in academia.

Mentor: Amelia Deitchman, PharmD, PhD

Nahadi is a rising senior at San Francisco State University majoring in biochemistry. As a first-generation college student pursuing a career in medicine, she’s committed to using science to serve communities, with a growing interest in HIV-related health. 

Mentor: Diana Alba, MD

Valeria is a biotechnology engineer and Master of Public Health candidate at UC Berkeley specializing in Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology. She is passionate about understanding how HIV and long-term treatment affect metabolic regulation, particularly through changes in adipose tissue and insulin sensitivity. Valeria applied to the CFAR Scholars Program to explore these intersections and is committed to pursuing translational HIV research that advances health equity and chronic disease prevention.