18 Inspiring California fellows and grant recipients are studying in California this year. Read below to learn about each recipient’s award program name, their institution, degree sought, primary area of expertise, specialization, project name and bio. See what, and who, your AAUW Fund dollars support. Videos will be forthcoming in the near future.

Speaker Information

	First Name	Last Name	Institution	Degree Sought	Primary Area of Expertise	Specialization	Award Program Name	Project Name	City	Video
	HALEH	ALIMOHAMADI	University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles-CA)	Post Doctorate	Engineering	Bioengineering	American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship	Beyond Traditional Biomarkers: Differential Geometry in Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Mechanisms	Los Angeles
	Bio: Haleh Alimohamadi researches the molecular drivers of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) associated with chronic inflammation and viral infections. She uses multi-scale physical, experimental, and AI-driven frameworks to study cellular behavior from protein sequences to cellular functions. Her goal is to inform the development of therapies for chronic disorders and vaccines that reduce adverse cardiac outcomes.
	AMY	ALTERMAN	University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles-CA)	Post Doctorate	Anthropology	Reproductive Health Studies	American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship	Pleasure Over Patriarchy: The Art & Comedy of Abortion Access Front's Revolution	Los Angeles
	Bio: Dr. Amy E. Alterman is a feminist ethnographer whose work explores how creativity and care shape reproductive justice. Her research examines how independent abortion clinics use humor, storytelling, and performance to support patients and resist stigma, especially in the U.S. South and Midwest. She works at the intersection of public health and the humanities to advance more just, joyful, and community-rooted reproductive care.
	MARINA DADICO	AMÂNCIO de SOUZA	University of California-Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz-CA)	Doctor of Philosophy	Ethnic & Cultural Studies	Latin American and Latine Studies	International Doctoral Degree Fellowship	A Maroon Sense of Place: Visualizing Freedom with Quilombola Women in the Brazilian Urban South	Santa Cruz
	Bio: Marina Dadico Amâncio de Souza is a Cuir scholar exploring Black geographies and land struggles across the Americas. Her research focuses on Maroon women in Porto Alegre, Brazil, who mobilize their communities for territorial rights by navigating land laws, resisting state violence, and cultivating spaces of freedom. Marina’s work deepens our understanding of liberation movements in the African diaspora.
	TRINITY	COOKIS	University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley-CA)	Doctor of Philosophy	Biology	Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology	American Dissertation Fellowship	Mechanisms safeguarding epigenetic silencing by Polycomb Repressive Complex 2	Berkeley
	Bio: Trinity Cookis is a Ph.D. candidate in Molecular Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that fine-tune Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 function, which plays key roles in organism development, maintenance of cell identity, and is frequently dysregulated in human disease. Trinity would like to continue as a postdoc and lead her own lab to study how epigenetic regulators function in the context of human disease.
	BRIANNA	HUYNH	California State Polytech University (Pomona-CA)	Master of Science	Mathematics	Mathematics Education	Selected Professions Fellowship	STEM Students’ Post-Transfer Experiences	Pomona
	Bio: Brianna Huynh is a second-year math master’s student at Cal Poly Pomona. Her thesis examines the post-transfer experiences of STEM students transitioning from community college to a four-year institution. She bridges classroom practice and policy as a teaching associate and education policy researcher. Brianna aims to work at the intersection of policy and research, focusing on community colleges and other postsecondary systems that provide critical access for historically excluded communities.
	ADIA (Ja’Nea)	JAMES	University of California-Irvine (Irvine-CA)	Doctor of Medicine	Health & Medicine	Doctor of Medicine	Selected Professions Fellowships	Selected Professions Fellowships	Irvine
	Bio: Ja’Nea James is a third-year medical student and LEAD-ABC Scholar at UC Irvine School of Medicine. Hailing from Alabama, her passion for community-based healthcare was ignited by her grandmother, a retired nurse. She earned a BA in Gender and Women’s Studies from Pomona College and dedicated two years to community-based health advocacy as a program coordinator at Black Women for Wellness. She also founded Health Literacy Education for African, Black, and Caribbean Communities (HLE:ABCs) at UCI.
	KRISTINA	LAI	University of California-Davis (Davis-CA)	Doctorate	Health & Medicine	Epidemiology	American Dissertation Fellowships	Seroepidemiology of Enteric Fever: Advancing Methods to Characterize the Population-Level Force of Infection in a Changing Global Landscape	Davis
	Bio: Kristina Lai brings over a decade of experience in epidemiology and public health research. Her current work applies seroepidemiologic methods to strengthen global infectious disease surveillance, with a focus on enteric fever. By addressing critical gaps in population-based data, her research informs vaccine policy and health decision-making. She aims to advance applied methods that translate research into real-world impact for public health systems worldwide.
	KATHLEEN	McKINNEY	San Francisco State University (San Francisco-CA)	Master of Arts	Mathematics	Mathematics	Career Development Grant	MA in Mathematics	San Francisco
	Bio: Kate McKinney is a master’s student in mathematics at San Francisco State University focused on signal processing, linear algebra, and neural networks. A former arts leader, she now explores applied math for data science and risk analysis. She is developing a thesis on high-dimensional systems and is committed to mentoring women in STEM through education and service.
	PAMELA	NWAKANMA	University of California-Irvine (Irvine-CA)	Other	Political Science	African Politics	American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship	Women, Power, and Networks: The Gendered Politics of Economic Empowerment	Irvine
	Bio: Dr. Pamela Nwakanma's research and teaching focus on the political economy of gender and international development, with expertise in the African context and the African diaspora. Her current book project examines the socio-economic forces behind women’s economic mobility and paradoxical political stagnation in Nigeria, Africa’s largest country. She also leads adjacent projects on entrepreneurship, identity, and political power in other parts of Africa and the Americas.
	DANIELA KAISER	OLHAGARAY	University of California-Irvine (Irvine-CA)	Doctorate	Criminal Justice & Criminology	Criminology, Law and Society	International Doctoral Degree Fellowship	Between Care and Coercion: Family Involvement with Criminal Justice, Child Welfare, and Welfare Agencies	Irvine
	Bio: Daniela Kaiser Olhagaray researches how state systems impact disadvantaged families, focusing on child welfare and criminal justice institutions. By examining institutional contact across the life course, she reveals how state interventions shape family wellbeing in both intended and unintended ways. Her goal is to inform the development of equitable, evidence-based social policies
	AMY	PARKHURST	University of California-Davis (Davis-CA)	Doctor of Philosophy	Biology	Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology	American Dissertation Fellowship	Adverse effects of nanoplastics administration on the metabolic profile and glucose control in mice	Davis
	Bio: Amy Parkhurst is a Ph.D. candidate, in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology at UC Davis. Her current work focuses on the punitive adverse effects of nanoplastics on health and is working to uncover the underlying molecular mechanisms. After graduation, she aims to continue her research work as a post-doctoral scholar, with a long term goal of eventually forming a laboratory group to train the next generation of scientists.
	SARA	PEDRAZA	University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles-CA)	Doctorate	Biology	Thermal physiology and plant genetics	International Doctoral Degree Fellowship	Comparative thermal performance and phylogeography of co-distributed montane tree species in the Colombian Andes: an integrative approach to study diversification of tropical plants.	Columbia
	Bio: Sara Pedraza is a Colombian researcher passionate about tropical biodiversity. Her project explores how climate variation in tropical mountains shapes tree physiology, genetic divergence, and acclimation across elevations and regions. Through fieldwork, experiments, and genomics, she studies thermotolerance, genetic structure, and plasticity. She is also committed to fostering scientific curiosity and expanding access to education for future generations.
	AMY	REID	University of California-Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz-CA)	Doctor of Philosophy	Cinema Studies	Feminist Filmmaking	American Dissertation Fellowship	Feminist Relationality in the Americas: Women's Practices in Filmmaking & Quilting	Santa Cruz
	Bio: Amy Reid is a filmmaker and Ph.D. candidate in the Film and Digital Media Department at UC Santa Cruz. Her dissertation, Feminist Relationality in the Americas: Women's Practices in Filmmaking & Quilting, explores the aesthetic and political practices of feminist filmmakers from the 1970s in relation to her own filmmaking and work as a film programmer. Reid holds a BFA from The Cooper Union, an MFA from UC San Diego, and is an alumna of The Whitney Independent Study Program.
	SUMEYYE	SEKER	University of California-San Diego (La Jolla-CA)	Doctorate	Engineering	Nanoengineering, Wearable Electrochemical Sensors	International Doctoral Degree Fellowship	Wearable Electrochemical Sensing Platform for Multiplex Detection of Environmental Chemicals in Breast Milk	San Diego
	Bio: Sumeyye Seker is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical and Nano Engineering at UC San Diego. Her research focuses on the development of wearable electrochemical sensors for real-time monitoring of human and plant health. Through her fellowship, she aims to engineer a portable breast pump integrated with electrochemical sensors to detect toxicants in breast milk, addressing maternal and infant health risks from environmental exposures and promoting safer breastfeeding through accessible diagnostics.
	SYEDA	SHAHBANO IJAZ	Occidental College (Los Angeles-CA)	Post Doctorate	Political Science	International Relations/ Comparative Politics	American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship	Aiding Accountability: The Politics of Last-Mile Service Delivery in Pakistan	Los Angeles
	Bio: Syeda ShahBano Ijaz studies the political economy of development and the distributive politics of foreign aid. Her book project, Aiding Accountability, examines how seemingly marginal last-mile services help resource-constrained local politicians gain relevance. By reducing bureaucratic costs, these services enable localized accountability and may improve how foreign aid benefits reach underserved communities.
	CLARIS	SUNJO	University of California-Davis (Davis-CA)	Doctor of Philosophy	Earth Sciences	Hydrogeochemistry	International Doctoral Degree Fellowship	Spatial and Temporal Controls of Solutes and Nutrients and Carbon Cycling in a Tropical Mangrove Estuary	Davis
	Bio: Claris Sunjo researches how nitrate pollution affects carbon cycling in tropical mangrove estuaries. Her work identifies nitrate sources and eutrophication hotspots in open-water estuaries, revealing how these dynamics influence carbon processes. The anticipated findings support hydrogeochemical modeling and inform estuarine water quality monitoring, acidification assessments, and policy decisions.
	ANAMARIA	TRUJILLO	University of California-Davis (Davis-CA)	Doctorate	Anthropology	Sociocultural	American Dissertation Fellowships	Making and Unmaking Gender During War and Peace; An Ethnography of Demobilized Women in Colombia	Davis
	Bio: Anamaría Trujillo researches demobilized female ex-combatants who laid down arms following Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement. Her work highlights how women who defy traditional caregiver roles by joining armed groups are often overlooked in post-conflict processes. Through ethnographic fieldwork, she aims to inform more stable peacebuilding efforts by recognizing the agency and needs of women in war and peace.
	EVELYN	VASQUEZ	University of California-San Diego (La Jolla-CA)	Doctor of Philosophy	Language & Literature	American Literature	American Dissertation Fellowships	Blueprints of Seclusion: Mapping U.S. Housing Poverty in Multiethnic Narratives and Policy (1860-1940)	La Jolla
	Bio: Evelyn Vasquez researches the architectural imagery of Native reservations, plantations, and tenements in U.S. literature. Her work explores how literary depictions of outcasted and enclosed spaces reveal historical gaps in housing development for marginalized communities. She aims to become a literature professor to examine multi-ethnic artistic intersections in spaces where means to survive have been removed, policed, and displaced.