MEMBERS

Oliver I. Fregoso – Principal Investigator

I am a native of Northern California who has lived in the Midwest, East Coast, PNW, and now Southern California (gasp!). I did my postdoctoral studies with Michael Emerman at Fred Hutchinson where I studied lentiviruses such as HIV. Before that I obtained my PhD from the graduate program at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory studying alternative splicing with Adrian Krainer. I am co-founder of Hutch United at Fred Hutch, and committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM at UCLA and beyond. If I am not in the lab, I am probably riding a bicycle or playing soccer (when not injured), cooking, gardening, or listening to music.

We are thankful to current and past support from the NIH NIAID, NIH NIDA, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, HARC Center, UCLA CFAR/AIDS Institute, UCLA I3T, and UCLA DGSOM.

Graduate and Postdoctoral Trainees

Andrew Lopez
Graduate Student – IMMP

Andrew is a Los Angeles native from the San Fernando Valley and a PhD student in the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctoral Program. Before coming to UCLA, he received a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a focus in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Irvine and spent a year participating in a post-baccalaureate research program at Yale University. Currently he is studying the effect of HIV-1 and HIV-2 Vpr protein on cell cycle arrest. During his free time he enjoys photography, watercolor, hiking, and playing Pokemon Go. He is also involved in diversity and outreach for the graduate program in biosciences (GPB). Andrew is previously supported by the Molecular Pathogenesis Training Grant and the Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship.

Vivian Yang
Graduate Student – IMMP

Vivian is originally from LA County and joined the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctoral Program after completing her BS Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, along with a minor in Biomedical Research in UCLA. Although her undergraduate research focused on mitosis and cell division, she eventually found a calling for infectious diseases.
In her free time she likes to explore new worlds through novels, sew/embroider, or practice calligraphy, though if you can get her out of her apartment she also likes visiting different cafes with friends, kayaking, and nature walks.

Randilea Nichols-Doyle
Postdoctoral Fellow

Originally from Oklahoma, Randilea received her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Microbiology from Oklahoma State University. While at OSU, she performed research with two separate professors, Ramathury Mahalingam and Ronald Van Den Bussche. She then moved west and earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. Randilea completed her thesis work in Russell Vance's lab studying the in vivo effects of cell specific NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome activation. Currently, she is studying HIV latency and the possible contribution of the DNA damage response. During her free time, she enjoys hiking & traveling, skiing, baking, and reading. Randilea is currently supported by the Virology and Gene Therapy Training Grant.

Karly Nisson
Graduate Student – Gene Reg.

Karly is a Southern California native from Orange County who received her B.S. in Molecular Biology from UC San Diego and M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine from the Keck School of Medicine of USC. At USC, she studied epigenetic editing in the context of prostate cancer in Dr. Peggy Farnham’s lab. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student within the Gene Regulation home area of the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctoral Program. When she’s not in lab, you can find her hiking, hanging out at the beach or trying out a new cake recipe.

Carina Sandoval
Graduate Student – Gene Reg.

Originally from Orange County California, Carina is a Ph.D. student in the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctoral Program. She received her B.S. in Biological Science with a concentration in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology and Chemistry minor from California State University Fullerton. During her free time she enjoys reading at random coffee shops, hiking, practicing yoga, and playing with dogs. Carina is previously supported by the Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Grant and currently supported by the Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship.