Omar Arreola is a fourth year undergraduate from Chicago (the city!), Illinois on the Pre-Medicine track majoring in Sociology and LACIS with certificates in Chican@/Latin@ Studies and European Studies. This is his third year in the URS program and his second as a fellow. His hope is to work with and for underserved populations with limited access to health care within a primary care specialty. On campus, he is a member of and UW Humorology director for Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, president of Order of Omega Greek Honor Society, a Co-Founder/Co-Chair of the Professional Assoc. of Latin@s for Medical School Access, and a Powers-Knapp scholar. He enjoys spending free time hanging out with friends, listening to music, taking it to the dance floor, running, napping, and eating spicy foods.

Nick Burton grew up in rural Wisconsin living the dream alongside dairy cows. He is in his final year at the University and majoring in Biology. Outside of biology and URS he participates in many intramural sports and the UW chapter of Habitat for Humanity. He also spent three years serving with the Wisconsin Union Directorate Community Service Committee including one year as associate director. After three years in the department of medical microbiology and immunology under Dr. Anna Huttenlocher researching immune and cancer cell migration and now works in the lab of Dr. Scott Kennedy researching small RNA molecules and general genetic phenomenon. After graduation he will continue working as a lab manager for a year with Dr. Kennedy while completing a project he has begun. After that year he looks forward to becoming a graduate student in the field of small RNA molecules.

Fernando Cardoso is a senior majoring in physics and astronomy at UW Madison. He is originally from Brazil, but sadly not related to the former president of Brazil Fernando Cardoso (with whom he shares a birthday). Fernando leads a double fellow life, working as a returning research fellow for URS and as a house fellow for UW Housing in Elizabeth Waters Hall. Outside of URS and Housing, you can find him spending time playing volleyball for the men's club team or singing in one of the university choirs. Fernando spent this past summer working in New Mexico at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory Science Operations Center (NRAO SOC), doing research on star formation and active galactic nucluei (AGN) emission in high redshift galaxies.

SarahMaria Donohue is currently in her senior year majoring in Spanish and Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies with certificates in Women Studies and Chican@/Latin@ Studies. SarahMaria returns to the URS program as a first time fellow after studying abroad in the beautiful city of Sevilla, Spain. As a scholar, SarahMaria conducted research in Dr. Lyn Turkstra’s Communication and Cognition Lab in which she investigated Traumatic Brain Injury and its effects on communication in adults. An active volunteer, SarahMaria enjoys spending time teaching Spanish classes in Eagle Heights, being a Peer Leader for the Department of Physiology, and working with the Madison Senior Center. In the future she hopes to open a Women and Children’s shelter and medical center in her hometown of Milwaukee. In her free time, SarahMaria enjoys speaking Spanish, running, and spending time with family and friends.

Ashley Jordan is in her senior year of college, pursuing her B.A. in psychology. Last year she participated in URS as a scholar, and is now excited to return for her first year of fellowing. She has been researching emotion regulation and pain processing with the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, under the direction of Dr. Richard Davidson. She will be completing an honors thesis there. After college, Ashley plans to attend graduate school to earn her doctorate in clinical psychology. She hopes to open her own clinical practice that specializes in mental health issues for underrepresented groups. She enjoys singing, playing guitar, painting, drawing and chatting with her friends. In her spare time, she also likes to do Pilates, decorate, and make people laugh.

Raman Kutty is a senior majoring in biochemistry, hailing from the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls. For his senior honors thesis he is researching the role of microRNAs in regulating gene expression in therapeutically resistant cancer stem cells as a member of the Brain Tumor Research Lab. When he is not working on medical school applications, he enjoys reading, cycling, backpacking and camping. He can often be found studying in College Library or relaxing at the Union.

Minhtuyen, mostly known as Minh, was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and grew up in the urban city of Milwaukee. She majors in Southeast Asian Studies, Asian American Studies and is on the pre-Pharmacy track. Minh is involved with several organizations on campus including the Vietnamese Student Association, Vietnam Health Project, Project Downtown. She co-chairs Chancellor’s Scholars and Project Downtown which is a non-profit organization that helps to alleviate poverty in Madison. When she is not doing academics and school activities, she likes to play video games including Halo and Rockband, go to guest lectures, try out new food from different cultures or go to library to read for leisure.

Roshni Patel hails from breezy and beautiful Beloit, Wisconsin. She is a senior at UW Madison, pursuing a major in Neurobiology and certificate in South Asian Studies. She currently works in a pulmonary research lab at the UW Hospital. When she is not in the classroom or lab, Roshni enjoys traveling, biking through Madison’s extensive trails, eating spicy food, and watching Danish films.

Courtney Premer is a senior from Miami, Florida majoring in Neurobiology. This is her fourth, and unfortunately last year in URS and second year as a fellow. Courtney has performed both neuro and cancer research, and she will be continuing another year with Professor Mark Brownfield exploring the brain and adrenal. Additionally, Courtney is involved in Biocore Outreach Ambassadors, teaching middle schoolers in rural areas. While not partaking in academic endeavors, Courtney enjoys playing basketball, softball, and volleyball.

Sehrish Rana is a junior from Waukesha, WI, majoring in Medical Microbiology and Immunology. She hopes to go to medical school and become a pediatric surgeon. This is her third year in the URS program, and first year as a fellow. Her research experience includes work in the Department of Dermatology studying lung cancer, as well as research in the Department of Biochemistry studying Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. In her free time she enjoys shopping, talking, laughing, watching movies, and spending time with friends and family.

Varun Razdan is a senior majoring in Neurobiology. He was born and raised in the Washington DC area. Varun is very involved with research at the University. Currently he is exploring the pre-frontal cortex and how injuries to it affect decision making and emotions. In his free time, he enjoys traveling around the world, investing, swimming, and sailing on Lake Mendota.

Molly Reddy is a fourth year student double majoring in Latin American Studies & Community Leadership and Development in the School of Human Ecology. Originally from Waukesha, WI she now prefers Madison or Latin America, having studied the past semester in Santiago, Chile and interning at a nonprofit in Medellín, Colombia in 2007. She has spent the past two years working on a community-based research project with Prof. Randy Stoecker on nonprofit technology that resulted in the creation of UW-Madison’s TechShop. Molly is passionate about the nonprofit sector, civic engagement, social entrepreneurship, community education, and oral histories. In her free time she enjoys her involvement with the student organization AIESEC, the theater cooperative Dignidad Sin Fronteras (Dignity Without Borders), listening to NPR’s This American Life and watching TED Talks, as well as dancing salsa and merengue, and doing crafts.

Meghan Reppen is a junior from West Allis, WI, majoring in Microbiology. After graduation, she hopes to take a year to work for a pharmaceutical company and then continue her studies in graduate school. After graduate school, Meghan would like to do biomedical research. This is Meghan’s fourth year in URS and second year as a fellow. This will be Meghan’s fourth year working in Eugene Kaji’s lab, studying heart disease. She has also done HIV research and participated in the Pathways Scholars summer program. When Meghan is not studying or preparing for her next URS class, she loves to spend time with her friends and family, listen to music, read, watch movies, and go shopping.

Sarah Sanders is a junior studying Medical Microbiology & Immunology. Originally from Plymouth, MN, this is her second year with URS and her first year as a fellow. Working in a neurology lab, she has assisted with Professor Tom Sutula's research project in determining the plasticity of the hippocampus in epilepsy. Outside of the academic spectrum, Sarah is the treasurer of Alpha Epsilon Delta, a Chancellor Scholar, and an avid chemistry tutor with GUTS. When not filling her time with studying and extracurriculars, she loves experiencing new things, giving back to the community, exercising, reading a great book, and spending time with her family and friends.

Sam Seider is a junior from Cedarburg, WI, working towards a degree in Medical Microbiology & Immunology. This is his second year in the URS program and first year as a fellow. As a scholar, Sam conducted research in the field of medical simulation under the guidance of Dr. Eric Bauman in the department of Anesthesiology. An active volunteer, Sam works as an Emergency Medical Technician at Shorewood Hills. He is also heavily involved in See Who’s Caring, a UW Student Organization which he founded with the mission of providing underprivileged Ugandans with the eye glasses they need. Additionally, Sam serves on the board of Student Emergency Medical Services and is involved in the UW First Responders Program, a program founded by the group in order to provide emergency care at UW intramural and recreational sports events. When not engaging in academic pursuits, Sam enjoys reading, playing basketball, and volunteering abroad.

Terrance Sims was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Rufus King where he graduated with honors. Currently a junior at the UW campus, Terrance is working towards a Biology degree in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Upon completing his undergraduate degree, Terrance plans to attend either pharmacy or medical school. His most recent research was through the educational science department where he studied the psychological effects on students involved in bully-victim relationships in Milwaukee middle schools.

Mark Tervo is a third year undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hailing from Eagan, Minnesota. Mark is originally from Canada, being born in the prairie province of Saskatchewan, but the majority of his life has been spent in the United States. At UW-Madison, he is pursuing a major in biochemistry and a certificate in mathematics with hopes of attending medical school after he graduates. Besides studying Biochemistry and Math, Mark also tutors with GUTS and works in the Coon Lab helping his mentor Doug with proteomics research and in-house software development. During his free time, Mark loves reading books, watching movies, listening to music, biking, and spending time with his friends.

Casmir Turnquist is a senior from the Twin Cities majoring in Biology and English literature. She is embarking on her fourth year with URS and her second year as a Fellow. She is currently completing a senior thesis on the enhanced survival and integration of transplanted neural progenitor cells into the injured brain. On campus, she also serves as the President of the Honors Student Organization and a member of the UW Synchronized Skating Team.