Jared Mazzanti is a political science major emphasizing in political economy. Jared aspires to work for the U.S. State Department in the future, in a position that deals directly with China/East Asian diplomatic relations. The Boren scholarship will fund study in China at Qinghua University.
Victoria Wu is a sophomore double majoring in political science and East Asia/ Pacific/Australia Studies at Berkeley. The Boren Scholarship will fund study in China at Peking University. Victoria aspires to work for the U.S. State Department in the future, with a goal of helping craft U.S. foreign policy towards China.
Juwarat Kadiri graduated in spring 2008 with a degree in molecular and cell biology, genetics, genomics, and development. Also a Regents and Chancellor’s Scholar, Biology Fellows Program recipient, and summa cum laude, Juwarat has been actively involved in research concerning sickle cell disease. She will begin medical school at Harvard Medical School in the fall with the goal of becoming a physician.
Madhvi Venkatesh is a major is bioengineering at Berkeley. She has a particular interest in synthetic biology, which will allow her to engineer “well characterized” organisms to perform useful functions. Madhvi has also been very involved in a number of activities outside her coursework. She is the founder and president of the Berkeley chapter of the Engineering World Health, Managing Editor for The Triple Helix: an Undergraduate Journal of Science, Law, and Society, and an active member of the Society of Women Engineers. Madhvi is also very active in Bharatanatyam dance and has coordinated dance performances for South Asian Awareness Week and as a member of the Satrang South Asian Dance Group. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in bioengineering in graduate school.
Yueh-Yi Wu is a sophomore majoring a cell and molecular biology. Yueh-Yi is also a Regents and Chancellors ‘ Scholar and a Biology Fellows Program recipient. She has also served as Policy Director for The Triple Helix: an Undergraduate Journal of Science, Law, and Society, volunteers at Alta Bates Hospital in Oakland and work in the Berkeley Law Library. Yueh-Yi, hopes to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in the future and one day hopes to develop effective treatments that regulate gene expression with the aim to discover more efficient drugs and new treatments for cancer.
Yohan Song, a senior, is a major in Molecular and Cell Biology at Berkeley. While in college, Yohan has been active as a tutor and mentor for ImpACT, the Student Learning Center, and Molecular and Cell Biology Peer Advising. He is also active in Wonderworks, a club that teaches local elementary school student science. Yohan will attend medical school in the future with the goal of specializing in neurobiology to treat and prevent strokes.
Viet (David) Dinh is a junior majoring in microbial biology at Berkeley. David has a passion to “alleviate the inequality that makes one’s quality of life a function of the wealth one is born into”. He has focused his interest in providing clean water to the people of Uganda. In addition to the Strauss scholarship, David has received grants from the Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research Program (SPUR) and the Bears Breaking Boundaries program. It is hoped that the efforts of David and his partners will provide locally affordable safe water storage options to over 2,000 Ugandan households.
Kevin Hur, a junior, is majoring in neurobiology at Berkeley. Kevin has a true desire to serve others through his activities. He is passionate about screening, vaccinating, and educating the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community against Hepatitis B. His Strauss funds will enable him work towards eradicating this disease within the API community. Also a Regents and Chancellors’ Scholar, Kevin has assisted researchers at UCSF working on the treatment of alcohol addiction.