Kamariza Lab

Destiny Garcia is an undergraduate student majoring in Public Affairs at UC Los Angeles. She is a proud sister of Lambda Theta Nu Sorority Inc. She believes in helping her community which is why she wants to pursue a career as an immigration paralegal. In her free time, she loves to bake, go to the gym or journal while listening to music. She also enjoys spending quality time with her friends. She is excited to be a part of the team and bring new organizational skills that will allow the lab to flow more smoothly.

Email: desgarcia2@g.ucla.edu

Lilith is a Chemistry PhD student on the chemical biology track at UCLA. She has a B.A. in chemistry and a minor in music theory from Vassar College. At Vassar, Lilith studied bacterial proteins involved in transferring antibiotic resistance genes. Following her interest in antibiotic resistance and infectious diseases, Lilith is interested in developing point of care diagnostics and drug susceptibility assays in the Kamariza lab. Outside the lab, Lilith sings in the UCLA Chorale and enjoys cooking/baking fun recipes, reading queer literature, hiking, and playing the piano!

Email: lilithschwartz@g.ucla.edu

Austin is Bioengineering PhD student at UCLA and has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Irvine . The recent COVID-19 pandemic and his work experience in blood glucose monitoring has led to a keen interest in developing powerful diagnostic tools for streamlining healthcare and monitoring disease spread in the future. On campus, he takes part in the Teo-Chew Association, where he connects with others who speak that dialect of Chinese, and the Bruin Duelist Association, where he plays Yu-gi-oh. In his free time, he loves trying new foods, cooking, playing video games, and listening to sci-fi audiobooks.

Email: atsi@g.ucla.edu

Manvel is a Bioengineering Master's student at UCLA. He is a double bruin and completed a B.S. in Bioengineering from UCLA in 2022. His current research interests lie in protein engineering where he's currently working on developing orthogonal Cas enzymes that can be used for multiplexed CRISPR-Cas diagnostics. Outside the lab, Manvel likes to discover new restaurants, enjoys cooking and baking, and is a big movie and tv junkie who loves to binge the latest releases.

Email: manvelyelanyan@g.ucla.edu

Ashvi is a Bioengineering PhD student at UCLA. She completed her undergraduate degree in Pharmaceutical Technology at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India followed by a Masters in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Her fascination for the field of diagnostics began during her time as a Research Assistant at Penn Medicine. Driven by her ambition to revolutionize healthcare, Ashvi is dedicated to developing advanced, affordable diagnostics to detect pressing infectious diseases. Outside of lab, Ashvi enjoys gardening, exploring new countries and their cultures, watching sports and reading biographies!

email: ashvi19@g.ucla.edu

Asma is a Bioengineering Master's student at UCLA. She completed her undergraduate studies in Biomedical Engineering from UC Irvine. After working on different microfluidic platforms for cancer and viral particle capture at Stanford as a research assistant, Asma became interested in developing accessible and non-invasive diagnostic platforms. Outside of the lab, Asma prides on being a foodie who also loves to cook, enjoys staying active and learning different sports, and learning new languages and cultures!

email: ahkarim@g.ucla.edu

Tanya is an Immunity, Microbes, and Molecular Pathogenesis PhD student who will be rotating in the Kamariza lab for Fall 2024. She obtained a bachelor's degree in Biomolecular Engineering from UC Santa Cruz in 2022, after which she worked in the biotech industry for 2 years before starting at UCLA. Her current research interests revolve around leveraging chemical and biological engineering to create accessible public health tools. Outside of the lab, Tanya enjoys backpacking, rock climbing, skiing, and spending time with her cat Suki!

Adriann Brodeth is an undergraduate student majoring in Bioengineering at UC Los Angeles and transferred from Santa Monica College. Currently, he is interested in developing point-of-care diagnostic tools with focus on infectious diseases and life-threatening complications. On campus, Adriann participates in the Biomedical Engineer Society (BMES) and also a part of Pilipinos in Engineering and Sciences (PIES) and International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). Adriann is a big fan of sports and loves discussing about sports. He also enjoys music and playing the piano in his free time.

Email: aj71701@g.ucla.edu

Amelia Rodolf is an undergraduate student studying Bioengineering at UCLA. She is a member of the UCLA Biomedical Engineering Society’s Cell Team and enjoys dancing and exploring new places around Los Angeles. She is an enthusiastic learner with an interest in the medical applications of molecular engineering. Amelia plans to pursue a career in biomedical research and hopes to develop new technologies to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare.

Email: ameliarodolf@g.ucla.edu

Cara Susilo is an undergraduate student at UC Los Angeles, majoring in Bioengineering. She is involved in the Association of Indonesian Americans, the UCLA Biomedical Engineering Society, Society of Women Engineers, and the Nikkei Student Union. She hopes to pursue a graduate degree in biomedical engineering and aims to work in research and development with a focus in the diagnostics of infectious diseases for developing countries and low-resource environments.

Email: carasusilo2026@g.ucla.edu

Joshua Yap is a second year undergraduate student majoring in Bioengineering at UCLA. He is an active member of the UCLA Biomedical Engineering Society’s Build Team and Tau Beta Pi. His current research interests include developing accessible point-of-care diagnostics involving infectious diseases for medical application. In his free time, he enjoys playing games with friends, watching and playing sports, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

Email: jyap26@g.ucla.edu