Monet J.

Founded in 2023, SPARK NS is an independent non-profit translational research organization dedicated to efficiently advancing promising neuroscience discoveries from the lab to the clinic. Through disease-specific 2-year programs, SPARK NS provides academic researchers with funding, education, mentorship, and networking opportunities to close gaps in knowledge and know-how and eliminate barriers that slow or prevent promising discoveries from directly benefiting patients.

Explored novel endocytic proteins that sustain neuronal integrity in vivo. Developed a methodology strategy, Protease-Assisted GFP Expression assay (PAGEN), to determine and quantify cellular content exchange between abnormally fused neurons in vivo Worked both independently and collaboratively in fast-paced laboratory environments Attended seminars and symposiums to keep current with overall knowledge and understanding beyond my field of study.

Molecular Medicine and Mechanisms of Disease(M3D) Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine Honors and Awards: [2020-2023] NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship (NIH/NSRA-F31; 12% percentile) [September 2022] Hutch United Mentoring Award [2019-2020] NIH National Institute of General Medicine Sciences Diversity Supplement (NIH/NIGMS) [2017-2019] Molecular Medicine Training Grant Appointee (NIHT32) [Oct. 2019] HHMI Gilliam Fellowship Nominee [April 2019] Hutch United Travel Award Recipient

As an Instructor for the summer STEMPREP program, I taught visiting 7th and 8th graders, co-developed the curriculum, created assessments, and led corresponding laboratory courses.

Working in Dr. Diana Chu’s lab, I studied important fertility factors during male meiosis. My thesis project focused on characterizing the roles of histone variants during spermatogenesis in C. elegans. Specifically, using molecular techniques and a bioinformatic approach to understand how the histone variants HTAS-1 and HTZ-1 modulate DNA accessibility in different cell types. Furthermore, how they differentially regulate transcription in a tissue-specific manner. Honors and Awards: [2017] Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Achievement [2017] Graduate Commencement Speaker [2016-2017] Genentech MS Dissertation Scholar [2017] Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS Scholar) [2015-2016] NIH-Research Initiatives for Scientific Enrichment (RISE Scholar)

SF State students have the opportunity to enroll in a supplementary course that supports their learning in the course for the respective subject. I led this course by prompting group work, offering alternative approaches to grasp challenging concepts, and preparing worksheets and mock exams.

Honors and Awards: [2013-2015] NIH-Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC Scholar) [2012-2015] Dean's List Recognition [2013-2015] Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation(LSAMP Awardee)

Within the Gator Aiders program at SFSU, I have served as the Leader for the Science & Engineering/Health & Human Services majors group. My duties see that I prepare my team to both adequately advise incoming freshmen and transfer students and inspire peak performance as an individual leader and staff member; through the Gators program, I work in coordination with the Undergraduate Admissions of the University in leading and advising incoming students. “Advising” students included the creation of class schedules and career pathways, daily guided tours of campus, and lead groups through registration workshops. The Gator Aiders program required that its team develop communication, organizational, and leadership skills through numerous training modules.

The summer program offered an integrative bench-to-bedside experience, where I could experience the day to day life as an MD-PhD. I worked in Dr. Michael Goran’s lab, studying the progression of Diabetes in overweight Latino children. Using minimal modeling and the intravenous glucose tolerance test, our findings suggested overweight and obese Latino children begin to show pancreatic β-cell dysfunction even though their fasting plasma glucose levels were normal.

I served as a district tutor in various high schools for the San Francisco Unified School District. We employed an inquisitive learning approach as opposed to one comprised heavily in lecturing, asking students questions that guide them to discover solutions through the use of teamwork and available knowledge/resources.