Grad Slam Finalists 2024
2024 Winners
Champion, Winning $3000
Natalie Pedicino
Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Ph.D., 3rd year
From Mucus Factory to Virus Factory: A Novel Gut Virus’ Global Impact on Children
Hometown: Arcata, CA
What excites you most about your research? Being first to explore a novel virus and its impact on global health, collaborating with other scientists, and learning about building and testing a vaccine, especially in the post-pandemic world.
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? UCSC’s a perfect combination of incredible science learning environment in a supportive and collaborative space and beautiful location that reminds me of home.
Tell us a bit more about yourself. I love meeting people through rock climbing, walking dogs, the outdoors, and new hobbies.
Runner-Up, Winning $1500
Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht
Anthropology Ph.D., 6th year
Colonized: Conquistadors, Cleanrooms, and the Evolution of Ancient Pathogens
Hometown: Pleasant Hill, CA
What excites you most about your research? Being able to use science in a way that gives back to the communities I work with and empowers them to influence the direction of research.
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? UCSC is one of the few places worldwide with ancient DNA facilities! I’m honored to work with and learn from the amazing group of talented people in UCSC Paleogenomics.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! I’m President of Outreach for UCSC Women in Science and Engineering, dedicated to increasing DEI in the sciences. I also work at UC San Francisco, where I liaise with Indigenous communities to repatriate UCSF’s collections.
People’s Choice, Winning $750
Em Butler
Social Documentation M.F.A., 1st year
Coming Home to Mango Orchards
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
What excites you most about your research? I love being constantly reminded of the powerful magic of storytelling!
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? The social documentation program engages in political inquiry, so I trusted I’d be in spaces with other like-minded people with big hearts and minds.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! I have a tiny rabbit named Bloo who is a widely known and beloved creature.
Other Finalists
Elsie Cecilia Carrillo
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Ph.D., 5th year
A Bubble for Trouble: Backup-Air for Snakes in Despair What You Already Know
Hometown: San José, CA
What excites you most about your research? As a scuba diver, I love projects relating to the fascinating adaptations of animals for aquatic environments. As an aspiring professor, I love sharing research through mentorship in the lab and field.
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? To study semi-aquatic snakes at the beautiful Coastal Science Campus under Dr. Rita Mehta, an expert in elongate, limbless vertebrates.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! I’m a dedicated educator with an affinity for artistic endeavors, including digital art and jazz flute!
MJ Johns
Computational Media Ph.D., 1st year
Gamification for Community Resilience
Hometown: Columbus Grove, OH
What excites you most about your research? Learning new things, collaborating with others, and making cool projects.
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? It has the best Computational Media program!
Tell us a bit more about yourself! Before coming ‘back to school,’ I was a professional game developer working on Call of Duty, as well as some smaller mobile and VR games.
Ania Mah Gricuk
History Ph.D., 2nd year
How Chinese Herbal Tea Challenged Colonialism in Malaysia
Hometown: Vancouver, BC, Canada, and Warsaw, Poland
What excites you most about your research? Learning the stories of and paying homage to immigrants and folks with mixed identities.
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? To work with my current advisor, Dr. Shelly Chan, whom I met through a former colleague and mentor.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! My multilingual and multicultural upbringing has taken me all around the world. By age twenty-five, I had lived in Poland, the UK, China, Canada, and the US. No matter where I live, I can find a place that serves good dumplings.
Aaron Samuel Mulenga
Visual Studies Ph.D., 5th year
Tenga Tenga: Can I Help You Carry Your Load?
Hometown: Lusaka, Zambia
What excites you most about your research? The travel to conduct research, as I get to see new spaces and meet new people. I love learning while traveling, as I’m a visual learner.
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? I connected most with my advisor, Dr. Elisabeth Cameron, who has been an exceptional mentor during this journey.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! I love adrenaline. I have been skydiving, white water rafting on the Zambezi River (Batoka Gorge Rapids are Class V difficulty), paragliding, and bungee jumping. I would like to learn how to fly a plane or skydive unassisted.
Brook M Thompson
Environmental Studies Ph.D., 2nd year
Integration of Indigenous Knowledge into California Water Policy
Hometown: Klamath (Yurok Reservation), CA
What excites you most about your research? Paving the way for other Indigenous scholars and improving the quality of water science in California!
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? It’s in the same state as my tribe, has redwoods and the Pacific Ocean, and the high quality faculty who truly care about me and my success.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! I’m a member of the Yurok and Karuk tribe, a salmon fisherwoman, have a B.S. in civil engineering (minor in political science) and an M.S. in environmental engineering (focus in water resources) from Stanford.
Firouz Vafadari
Computer Science and Engineering Ph.D., 2nd year
Connect to the Internet with Light!
Hometown: Tehran, Persia/Iran
What excites you most about your research? Changing the way people connect to the world and experience the future internet, fast and free—like light—with light!
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? To study under Dr. J. J. Garcia-Luna-Aceves, the third scientist in the world in Internet research.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! Playing Chopin on a Steinway grand piano in a hall with wide windows open to the Pacific Ocean and hung with silk curtains dancing in the wind is the ultimate I desire from this illusion, the world.
Maya Wax Cavallaro
Linguistics Ph.D., 5th year
Syllables in Our Minds: Evidence from a Learning Experiment
Hometown: Ipswich, MA
What excites you most about your research? Exploring the human capacity for communication via diverse languages and language communities.
Why did you choose to attend UC Santa Cruz for graduate study? The fantastic Linguistics Department with excellent faculty, opportunities and guidance for fieldwork, public programs like Nido de Lenguas, and the most beautiful campus I’ve ever seen.
Tell us a bit more about yourself! I love music and play flute and upright bass. Through my fieldwork on Santiago Laxopa Zapotec, I have gotten to play with and learn from communities of musicians in Santa Cruz (Senderos) and Oaxaca, Mexico.
