Bio 199 Students

Joshua Cheung

B.S.  Bio199 Research Assistant  joshukc2@uci.edu

I joined the Sajjadi Lab in the Fall quarter of 2023 as an undergraduate research assistant through the Bio 199 program. I am also currently working in Dr. Hirohito Ichii’s lab which has a focus on transplant surgery of the pancreas. I am currently planning to graduate from UCI with a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Spring quarter of 2024. My work in the lab primarily involves processing speech data for use in machine learning which can detect dementia early. I also aid in the processing of biomarker data obtained from the blood samples of adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and dementia-related pathologies. I plan to pursue either a PharmD or an M.D. in the future.

Dennis Le

B.S.  Bio199 Research Assistant  dennisnl@uci.edu

I joined the Sajjadi Lab as a Bio 199 undergraduate research assistant towards the end of Fall Quarter 2023. My interest in neuroscience began after I first surveyed MCI/dementia-diagnosed patients with UCI Patient Experience. This led to me joining the lab to better understand the many causes of dementia and have a greater impact on the dementia-affected population. In the lab, my work primarily concerns spontaneous speech transcription for use in machine learning, which analyzes speech markers to make early dementia diagnosis more accessible. Outside of the lab, I am also part of the Free Clinic Project as the Head of Media and Marketing and as a Clinic Trainer. I plan to attend medical school so that I can pursue surgery someday, possibly in cardiology, neurology, or oncology.