Undergraduate Student Researcher at Peng Lab, University of California, Los Angeles (2024-03 – 2026-06)
Study: Blocking Pathological Tau Amplification in Alzheimer's Disease by Modulating Post-Translational Modifications on Soluble Tau
- Executed an in-vivo study in tau-knockout mice, performing stereotaxic AAV and pathological tau-seed injections into the hippocampus to test whether soluble tau acetylation modulates pathological tau propagation
- Maintained and genotyped a transgenic mouse colony, tracking breeding and health records in compliance with institutional animal welfare standards
- Performed transcardial perfusion, tissue fixation, and cryosectioning of mouse brain tissue, followed by immunofluorescence staining (AT8/HLT1 antibodies) and ImageJ-based quantification of pathological and total tau signal
- Results showed that soluble tau acetylation at K369/370 significantly reduced AD-tau induced pathology (p < 0.001), while acetylation at K280/281 significantly increased it (p < 0.01), relative to wild-type tau controls
- Took on an independent subproject within an ongoing postdoctoral project under faculty and postdoctoral mentorship, culminating in an honors research thesis (MCDB 198C)
Undergraduate Student Researcher at Peng Lab, University of California, Los Angeles (2024-03 – 2026-06)
Study: Blocking Pathological Alpha-Synuclein Propagation in Oligodendrocytes in a Novel MSA Mouse Model
- Performed intravitreal injections and optic nerve extractions, and conducted immunohistochemistry-based quantification of alpha-synuclein pathology for downstream analysis
- Assisted with colony-wide genotyping and day-to-day mouse husbandry
Research Project Co-Lead at Asian-Pacific-American Health Care, UCLA (2024-12 – Present)
Study: Social Isolation, Healthcare Utilization, and Barriers to Care Among Elderly Asian Americans in Los Angeles
- Designed and implemented a community-based survey and interview instrument; managed participant recruitment and data collection across multiple health fair events
- Prepared and maintained IRB protocol documentation, including secondary review submissions and informed consent forms
- Presented findings at two research conferences (UCLA Undergraduate Research Week 2026, Psi Chi Psychology Conference 2025)
