Course Content2025 Participants
Chinanu Agunane
BS Student, Pharmacological Chemistry
UC San Diego
ORCID: 0009-0007-9895-7503
Chinanu is an undergraduate student at UC San Diego majoring in Pharmacological Chemistry (Class of 2027). She is currently an undergraduate researcher at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy in Anthony O’Donoghue’s Lab. She is on the Track and Field team at UCSD and enjoys sweet treats and watching action shows.
email: chagunanne_at_ucsd_dot_edu
Tyler Bui
BS Student, Biochemistry
UC San Diego
ORCID: 0009-0004-9548-2790
Tyler is a UC San Diego undergraduate Biochemistry major (class of 2026), who transferred to UCSD in 2024. He previously participated in the 2024 Spring Break RIMSE program while he was a student attending San Diego Miramar College. In his free time, he likes to read and play musical instruments.
email: ttb003_at_ucsd_dot_edu
Farah Chen
High School Student
St. Cecilia Academy
ORCID: 0009-0006-4549-1925
Farah Chen is a freshman at St. Cecilia Academy (Class of 2028). Her interests include robotics, forestry, lacrosse, and she has passion for drawing and painting.
email:
Pusan Dhar
PhD Student
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
ORCID: 0009-0009-5840-8977
Pusan is a PhD student at NCAT. He has a keen interest in the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials.
email: pdhar_at_aggies_dot_ncat_dot_edu
Andrea Celeste Di Pede
PhD Student
University of Rome Tor Vergata
ORCID: 0009-0000-6710-9543
Andrea Celeste is currently a PhD student in the laboratory of Alessandro Porchetta, in the Department of Chemical Sciences and Technologies at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, where she also completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Sciences and Technologies. Her research mainly focuses on studying and manipulating CRISPR-Cas systems for their optimal use in diagnostics. Specifically, she works on integrating DNA nanostructures with CRISPR/Cas systems, which leads to the development of new detection methods and expands the applications of both DNA nanotechnology and CRISPR/Cas.
email: andreaceleste_dot_dipede_at_alumni_dot_uniroma2_dot_eu
Junyi (Vanessa) Ji
MS Student, Bioengineering UC San Diego
ORCID: 0009-0000-5127-398X
Vanessa is pursuing a Master’s of Science degree in Bioengineering at UC San Diego. She is passionate about combining nanotechnology and bioengineering to solve biomedical problems.
email: j6ji_at_ucsd_dot_edu
Hanna Lavén
PhD Student, Pharmacy Department
Uppsala University
ORCID: 0009-0006-2174-4158
Hanna is an industrial PhD student at the Pharmacy department of Uppsala University, in collaboration with AstraZeneca. She graduated from the University of Gothenburg in 2022 with a master’s degree in pharmacy. Following her studies, she joined AstraZeneca’s graduate program, where she gained experience across different company departments for two years. Her current PhD project focuses on developing sustainable personalized treatments for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, specifically by designing drug-loaded nanoparticles to target inflamed areas in the GI tract and exploring these delivery systems in vitro and in vivo.
email: hanna_dot_laven_at_uu_dot_se
Alberto G. Lavenant
BS Student, Biology
San Diego Community College
ORCID: 0009-0003-9605-8345
Alberto is an undergraduate student at San Diego Community College District pursuing an associates in Biology and is planning on transferring to a four-year University for the upcoming Fall semester. He is interested in pursuing medicine as a career and has found interest in several topics along the way that feeds his curiosity, particularly anything that quantitatively explains natural phenomena or observations made on a day to day basis.
email: alavenant001_at_student_dot_sdcc_dot_edu
Kaniyah Lewis
BS Student, Mechanical Engineering
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
ORCID: 0009-0001-0202-2188
Kaniyah is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering student from Raleigh, NC. She attends NC Agricultural and Technical University and enjoys playing in the marching band there. She will be researching Silicon Nanotechnology under the RISME program, and hopes to leverage her research to improve sustainability through the materials/chemicals we use.
email: kllewis1208_at_gmail_dot_com
Mateo Rosero-Realpe
PhD Student, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Polytechnic Institute of Turin
ORCID: 0009-0000-9226-0480
Mateo is a PhD Student in the department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Turin. He completed a B.S. degree in Electronic Engineering and a M.S. degree in Nanotechnologies for ICTs. His research focuses on the characterization of photonic materials for Neuromorphic Computing. He has been working with the nonlinear dynamics of WS2 and azo-polymers that can be used for computation and has acquired modeling, fabrication and characterization skills at INRIM Institute at Turin.
email: mateo_dot_rosero_at_polito_dot_it
2025 Mentors
Rachel Allen
High School Student
ORCID: 0000-0001-9810-8869
Rachel is a high school junior (class of 2026). She was a participant in the 2024 Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology (SSSiN), and in 2025 she will serve as a mentor. She is passionate about STEM and her interests particularly lie in physics. Outside of the laboratory, she enjoys making music, playing bassoon and flute.
email: n/a
Jiuk Byun
PhD Student, Materials Science & Engineering
ORCID: 0000-0001-9810-8869
Jiuk is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering at UC San Diego who joined the lab in 2023. She received her B.A. in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from Mount Holyoke College. She conducted her undergraduate research with Professor Wei Chen and helped develop a new procedure for spin coating polydopamine thin films. She also worked with Professor Dirk Englund’s group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Before joining UCSD, she researched coatings and carbonization of nature-inspired polymer materials in Professor Haeshin Lee’s lab at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. She participated in the Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology remotely in 2021 and in-person in 2023, and served as a mentor in 2024. Her research interests include surface modification of porous silicon nanoparticles and materials for sensing and catalysis applications.
email: jibyun_at_ucsd.edu
Oscar Calzada
PhD Student, Chemical & Nanoengineering
ORCID: 0000-0001-8922-4438
Oscar Calzada Martinez is a PhD student in the UCSD Department of Chemical and Nanoengineering who joined the lab in 2022. He has been a participant (2021) and a Senior Mentor (2022-24) in the Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology (SSSiN), one of the UC San Diego MRSEC RIMSE research immersion programs. Oscar has projects on porous nanoparticles used as small molecule delivery systems for bacterial infections, and as targeted therapeutics for treatment of brain injuries.
email: ocalzada_at_ucsd_dot_edu
Edward T. Nguyen
Post-Doc, Chemistry & Biochemistry
ORCID: 0000-0002-4787-8270
Eddie is a post-doctoral researcher in the UC San Diego Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry who was previously Adjunct Professor of Chemistry in the San Diego Community College and Grossmont College districts. He received both his B.S. and M.S. from CSU Long Beach (Advisor: Xianhui Bu) and obtained his Ph.D. from Florida State University (Advisor: Geoffrey F. Strouse, Focus: transition metal carbide nanocrystals). He participated in the SSSiN program as an RET (Research Experiences for Teachers) trainee in 2024, and is serving as a Senior Mentor in the 2025 SSSiN.
email: edn005_at_ucsd_dot_edu
Gabriella Stark
PhD Student, Chemistry & Biochemistry
ORCID: 0000-0003-1304-9404
Gabriella is a PhD Student in the UC San Diego Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. She was a participant in the 2021 Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology (SSSiN), one of the UC San Diego MRSEC RIMSE research immersion programs, and acted as a Senior Mentor in the 2022 through 2024 SSSiN. Her research focus is on surface chemistry of porous silicon nanoparticles to load and deliver biologic therapeutics, preserving function, extending release, and maximizing circulation time.
email: gastark_at_ucsd.edu
Ashley Tamura
MRSEC Associate Education Director
ORCID: 0000-0002-2540-6125
Ashley Tamura is the Associate Education Director of the UC San Diego MRSEC. She received both her B.S. and M.S. from UC San Diego while working on the phase-tunable colloidal synthesis of tungsten disulfide nanocrystals with Dr. Alina M. Schimpf. With her research background and her experience as an Adjunct Professor in the San Diego Community College and Southwestern College districts, Ashley forms a bridge between the research and the education elements of the MRSEC and the RIMSE program. She participated as an RET in the 2023 Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology, and as a Senior Mentor in 2024. Her research focus is on the physical, chemical, and optical properties of porous silicon.
email: aktamura_at_ucsd.edu
Qinglin Yang
PhD Student, Materials Science and Engineering, 2017-
ORCID: 0000-0001-7845-4027
Qinglin is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at UCSD. She began her work in the Sailor labs as a participant in the 2017 Summer School for Silicon Nanotechnology (SSSiN), one of the UC San Diego MRSEC RIMSE research immersion programs, and she has served as a Senior Mentor in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 SSSiN. Her research interests lie in the use of porous silicon nanoparticles for delivery of therapeutics to treat bacterial infections. This includes chemistries to capture and retain hydrophobic small molecule antibiotics and also to use peptides for selective targeting of the diseased tissues.
email: qiy087_at_ucsd.edu