Logan Condon
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Ajay Dhaka, Biological Structure
Logan is a rising senior at UW, majoring in Neurobiology. He is part of the Innovations in Pain Research Program and is spending his summer studying the neuronal mechanisms responsible for itch and pain sensation. More specifically he hopes to determine the transduction pathway that is activated by a topical cancer drug known to cause chronic itch. Outside of the lab Logan spends his time attending concerts, enjoying all of the amazing food Seattle has to offer, and preparing for the MCAT.
Juan (Pablo) Espinosa
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Kushang Patel, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Juan is a senior at the University of Washington, where he is studying Physiology and Biochemistry. This summer he will be working under the guidance of Dr. Patel in the UW Medicine Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine. He will be conducting epidemiologic research that focuses on an association between chronic widespread pain and vitamin D deficiency by analyzing a large, nationally representative data set from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In the future, he hopes to become a medical doctor and specialize in the field of pediatrics. He is also considering the continuation of doing basic science research after this summer and one day as a doctor. In his free time he enjoys reading, cooking, ultimate Frisbee, football, and soccer. He also enjoys volunteering at Seattle Children’s Hospital and spending time with family and friends.
Tom Gebert
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Tonya Palermo, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
Tom is a rising senior in the Neurobiology program at the University of Washington. During the school year he works in the Division of Neonatology at the UWMC in Dr. Sandra Juul’s lab studying the neuroprotective effects of Erythropoietin and other facets of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in neonates and neonatal models. This summer he aims to strengthen his skills in data analysis and scientific writing by working in Dr. Tonya Palermo’s lab at Seattle Children’s. He also hopes to make meaningful contributions to Dr. Palermo’s work and the field of anesthesiology. Dr. Palermo is a professor of anesthesiology, pediatrics and psychiatry at the UW School of Medicine, researching chronic pain in children and adolescents. Tom will be working on projects involving trends in opioid prescriptions to adolescents and their families, and the association between chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. Outside of the lab Tom enjoys spending time with friends, running, snow and water skiing, sailing, and anything else outdoors. In the future Tom hopes to earn an M.D., continue researching, and be a leader and innovator in patient-centered and compassionate medical care.
Qimin (Kimmo) Liu
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Shelby Langer, Social Work
Qimin is a rising senior majoring in Psychology, Philosophy, and Mathematics. His research experience includes studying the relationship between drinking, depression, and coping in college students, examining routine outcome monitoring in mental healthcare settings, and cross-culturally adapting and psychometrically evaluating psychological assessments. Qimin also finds epistemology and metaphysics interesting. In addition, Qimin studied human rights of those with psychological deficits. This summer Qimin is working with Dr. Shelby Langer in the Social Work Department. Qimin’s summer project focuses on the influence of parents’ catastrophizing about child chronic pain. In his spare time, Qimin enjoys sleeping and eating.
Dylan Moore
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Ajay Dhaka, Biological Structure
Dylan is a rising senior at the University of Washington, majoring in Biochemistry. For the past year he has researched under the Department of Biological Structure, focusing on nocioception in zebrafish. This summer his projects involve the characterization of the ion channel, TrpM2, and the Runx transcription factors, as they are expressed in sensory neurons implicated in the sensation of pain. Outside of research, he is highly involved in service activities aimed at addressing the educational and economic disparities that persist in King County. In his free time, he enjoys teaching scuba diving and attending music festivals.
Albert Ng
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Mark Opp, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
Albert is a rising senior at the University of Washington pursuing a double degree in Neurobiology and Medical Anthropology and Global Health. At the University of Washington, he works in the Buffalo Lab investigating activity of neural networks underlying learning and memory in non-human primates by studying hippocampal place cell firing patterns and analyzing unique behavioral events of navigation through virtual reality foraging tasks; his research is funded by the Washington Research Foundation Innovation Undergraduate Fellows in Neuroengineering and the University of Washington Computational Neuroscience Training Grant. This summer he is conducting research in the lab of Dr. Mark Opp exploring the neuronal basis for the interaction between the sleep and pain pathways. By using immunohistochemical microscopy and histological techniques, he will be investigating the localization of microglia and astrocytes in areas of the brain that are highly involved in sleep and pain regulation to identify mechanisms by which immune response alters sleep. During his free time, Albert enjoys hiking, cycling, cooking, and playing with dogs at the park.
Alta Steward
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Kushang Patel, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Alta is a rising senior at the University of Washington. She is pursuing a double major in Math and Neurobiology and is in the Computational Neuroscience Program. This summer is her first research experience and she is excited to be working with Dr. Patel, conducting epidemiology research with an emphasis on chronic pain and cellular aging. After graduation, Alta plans to take a gap year to research while applying to M.D./Ph.D. programs. In her free time she likes to speed-walk, cook, and talk about sheep. She hopes to work in the field of pain medicine one day, in addition to having a sheep farm.