Mikaila Hishaw, a fourth-year marine and coastal science major from Tucson, Arizona, arrived at UC Davis with plans to become a veterinarian. She soon discovered that research offered not just a new way to work with animals but also an avenue to explore her curiosity beyond the classroom.
Fourth-year biological sciences major and Barry Goldwater Scholar recipient Azucena Virgen studies the regenerative biology of Hydra — a freshwater organism known for its ability to regrow entire body parts — at the UC Davis Juliano Lab. What began as a fascination in a high school biology class in her hometown of Woodland, California, grew into a long-term goal to lead a research lab and mentor future scientists.
UC Davis fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Rogelio Castillo did not expect undergraduate research to open a path for him to create change in his community. His family’s past experiences with rushed and impersonal medical care led him to turn to science to ask the questions that improve both health outcomes and quality of patient-provider relationships.
Iliya Voytsyshyn, a fourth-year systems and synthetic biology major from Ukraine, entered UC Davis with plans to study cancer. That initial goal grew into a fascination with tools that fuse biology, systems design and gene editing to reengineer cells.
