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 WSBS at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory studying alternative splicing with Adrian Krainer. If I am not in the lab, I am probably riding a bicycle, playing soccer, cooking, or listening to The Smiths.

Research Associates

​Donna Li 
Staff Research Associate

An LA native, Donna recently moved back after graduating with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC, she studied the dynamics of the cell’s cytoskeleton in regard to cell motility under Dr. Ken Jacobson. She became so enamored with the field of biology that she later joined Dr. Paul Maddox’s lab, in which she developed a GFP-LAP tag for HP1 to observe its properties during mitosis. Currently, in the Fregoso lab, she is focused on determining how the lentiviral accessory gene, Vpr, engages the DNA damage response. When not in lab, you can find Donna driving her Prius throughout the city finding the next best place to eat and playing aunt to her sister’s spoodle.

Alexander Salas
​Research Technician

Alex is an LA local, born and raised. Currently he is a Senior majoring in MCDB, also a transfer student from Cerritos CC. He is using evolutionary analyses to characterize novel antiviral factors, and is supported by a UCLA MARC fellowship. When not in lab or classes, Alex is usually out eating and learning to enjoy the outdoors more.  

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).
Randilea Nichols
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. ​
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.

Undergraduate Researchers

Ariel Floro
Undergraduate MIMG Major
Ariel is a fourth-year undergraduate, majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and minoring in Biomedical Research.  When she is not in the lab or studying, she spends her time doing martial arts and wrestling.  Much like others here, she is an L.A. native and very excited to be part of and to learn from this lab.
Andres Rodriguez
​Undergraduate MIMG Major
Andres is a current undergraduate student who grew up in a quiet little town in the middle of nowhere called Littlerock, CA. He is a pre-Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major and while still being new to the lab he can’t wait to help and learn in anyway he can. Despite not being used to the buzzing city of Los Angeles, Andres enjoys walking around Westwood with his friends. When he is not studying for his classes, he enjoys looking up cat pictures, listening to music (way too much Troye Sivan), and hanging out with his friends.

Previous Lab Members

Ian Perrone
Master's Student
Originally hailing from the quaint city of San Francisco, Ian is a PhD student in the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctoral Program (try saying that five times fast). Before moving to Los Angeles, Ian obtained a B.A. in Biology from Kenyon College in Ohio before spending two years with the NIH postbaccalaureate program in Bethesda, MD. When not in lab, Ian enjoys slaying dragons/zombies/space pirates on his computer and listening to books about other people slaying dragons/zombies/space pirates on his iPod. Ian also enjoys a spirited game of badminton and other nerdy sports.

Ian graduated with an MS in June 2018! He plans to pursue a career in science education and teaching.
Cole Oost
Undergraduate
Cole is a second year undergrad student majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. He is new to the lab and to research in general, but is excited to help out in any way he can. Like many other members of the lab, Cole was born and raised in Los Angeles, and when he is not too busy studying, he loves to go to concerts, paint, swim, or just watch a good movie. ​

Cole is pursuing additional opportunities at UCLA, including teaching his own undergraduate course!