Tristan Bunting

Tristan Bunting is conducting research with Dr. Christopher Phiel at CU Denver, focusing on how RNA methylation pathways affect stem cell pluripotency. As a biochemistry major set to graduate in 2025, he plans to pursue graduate school afterward.

 

Rotation 1 with Dr. Krishnan
Rotation 2 with Dr. Ragland
Rotation 3 with Dr. Ren
Current research with Dr. Phiel

Kiera Willford

Kiera Willford is a senior at MSU Denver, where she is earning a bachelor’s degree in biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology. She has a passion for genetics and a dedication to understanding complex genetic disorders. Kiera is a part of Dr. Regie Santos-Cortez’s lab at CU Anschutz’s Medical Campus where she is a co-author of a peer-reviewed publication, “APOBR Is Downregulated in EBV+ Tonsils of Children with Obstructive Sleep-Disordered Breathing”. Outside of the lab and classroom, she loves to read, watch movies, and spend time with friends and family. Upon graduation in May 2025, Kiera plans to pursue a master’s degree in genetic counseling to further integrate her scientific expertise and interpersonal skills, ultimately aiming to bridge the gap between complex genetic research and patient care

Rotation 1 with Dr. Reed. Using AI to answer chemistry questions
Rotation 2 with Dr. Santos-Cortez. Isolate RNA to test for the presence of APOBR
Rotation 3 with Dr. Julian. Data analysis on metabolite changes
Current research with Dr. Santos-Cortez. Finding genes that contribute to EA/TEF

Publication:
Santos-Cortez, R.L.P., Gomez, H.Z., Elling, C.L., Mayher, L., Diala, O.R., Gardner, C., Willford, K., Zamora, V.C., Agyepong, A., Lee, N.K., Green, K.K., Darr, O.A., Wine, T.M., Francom, C.R., Larson, E.D., Gitomer, S.A., Schell, A.E., Frank, D.N., Friedman, N.R., and Herrmann, B.W. 2024. APOBR is Downregulated in EBV+ Tonsils of Children with Obstructive Sleep-Disordered Breathing. Genes 2024, 15(10), 1324. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/15/10/1324

Skylar Stefonowicz

Skylar Stefonowicz is a Junior majoring in Biology and a second-year GREU scholar. Currently, she is studying in Dr. Colleen Julian’s lab, looking into the molecular adaptations to high-altitude hypoxia in both Andean minority groups and Colorado residents. When she is not in the lab or in classes to finish her Biology B.S. and Chemistry minor, she is the mother of two adorably mischievous cats. 

Rotation 1 with Dr. Reed
Rotation 2 with Dr. Ravi
Rotation 3 with Dr. Julian
Current research with Dr. Julian

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Eden Chavez

Eden Chavez is a Colorado native pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology. With a passion for scientific research, he is actively involved in the Phiel lab at the University of Colorado Denver, studying epigenetics and the GSK3 pathway. When not immersed in his academic pursuits, Eden enjoys snowboarding, playing sports, and attending concerts.

Rotation 1 with Dr. Shaikh
Rotation 2 with Dr. Ren
Rotation 3 with Dr. Ravi
Current research with Dr. Phiel

Emily Boyer

Emily Boyer is a Computer Science and Math major with a concentration in Probability and Statistics. She has previously worked as a Data Analyst, Learning Assistant, and Student Research Assistant with the Sustainability Hub project at MSU Denver. She is completing lab rotations at CU Anschutz with Dr. Tamim Shaikh, Dr. Joanne Cole, and Dr. Janani Ravi. She is interested in developing open-source tools to assist bioinformatics researchers and utilize ML and NLP techniques to analyze genetic sequencing data. She is incredibly thankful to be a part of the GREU program as it has provided an incredible opportunity to work with top researchers at CU Anschutz!

Rotation 1 with Dr. Shaikh
Rotation 2 is going to be with Dr. Cole
Rotation 3 is going to be with Dr. Ravi

Isabella Eaton

Isabella Eaton (they/them, she/her) is a junior majoring in mathematics with a minor in Chicano studies and a first-year GREU scholar. They are working in Dr.Ramachandran’s lab focusing on computational analysis and using genomics to study Chromatin Structure and Dynamics. Isabella thanks the GREU program for supporting students and providing incredible research experiences within genomic topics at CU Anschutz.

Rotation 1 with Dr. Santos-Cortez
Rotation 2 is going to be with Dr. Ramachandran
Rotation 3 is going to be with Dr. Claw

Joanna Mendoza

Joanna Mendoza is a Senior majoring in Biology and a first-year GREU scholar.

Rotation 1 with Dr. Santos-Cortez
Rotation 2 is going to be with Dr. Yang
Rotation 3 is going to be with Dr. Shaikh

Ling Thang

Ling Thang is double majoring in Computer Science and Data Science and Machine Learning. On campus, he has worked as a Teaching and Learning Assistant for upper and lower-division CS courses. Ling is grateful to the GRUE Program for providing world-class research experience in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at CU Anschutz!

Rotation 1 with Dr. Yang
Rotation 2 is going to be with Dr. Kechris,
Rotation 3 is going to be with  Dr. Ravi.

Huy Nguyen

Huy Nguyen is a senior biology student and a first-year GREU scholar. Currently, he is researching fibroblast cells at CU Anschutz under the guidance of Dr. Yang, exploring gene expression and cellular responses to different media, such as antibiotics. His work focuses on advancing our understanding of fibroblast selection, transfection techniques, and their roles in fibrosis.

Rotation 1 with Dr. Yang, Fibroblast cells
Rotation 2 is going to be with Dr. Reed
Rotation 3 is going to be with Dr. Santos-Cortez