NeURO Undergraduate Alumni

Hi everyone! I am Aleishai Pena Lopez, a sophomore who is currently attending De Anza College and planning to transfer to a four-year university this upcoming fall. My major is biological sciences and I’m passionate about knowing the how and why behind our body’s reactions. This relates to my interest in sociology, as I am eager to learn what outside factors affect the decisions we make and our health. In the future, I aspire to become a surgical physician. During my free time; I like to volunteer at my local food bank, bake, and dance.

I’m a freshman planning on majoring in Symbolic Systems. I’m very passionate about providing physiological basis for psychological concepts and bridging the gap between modern technology and the human mind. I did a lot of Science Olympiad, Biology Olympiad, HOSA and BrainBee in high school. Competing is what got me into Neuroscience. Whether or not I’ll pursue a career in medicine, research, or biotech is unclear for now, but I’m excited to explore each path.

I am originally from Boston, MA, and I hope to major in Bioengineering. My interests for neuroscience sparked after arriving at Stanford and discovering the fascinating research going on here, and I look forward to exploring it hands on as a NeURO fellow. As of now, I hope to pursue surgical oncology as a career, and if it’s in my cards, I want to open a free clinic to serve underinsured communities. I will be studying stroke models in mice as a NeURO fellow, and test if focused ultrasound can clear toxic waste post-stroke and improve outcomes.

I am a first-generation college student at Foothill. I am part of the Foothill Puente program. I am full of optimism and good energy. I enjoy learning about new things regarding science and technology. I spend my free time discovering new music or finding new food spots to try out. I am pursuing an associate of science degree in radiology technology because I want to become a Radiology Technologist.

I am currently a freshman studying bioengineering and earth systems. My parents are refugees from Vietnam and I grew up in a single-parent household with my mom. My dad suffered with substance addictions which sparked my involvement in mental healthcare activism. I look forward to participating in research under Dr. Sudhof's Lab, investigating treatments for mental illnesses like autism and schizophrenia.

Audrey Nguyen-Hoang (‘25) is a freshman at Stanford who is planning to major in Biology and Psychology. Her passion and curiosity for medicine and neuroscience are at the heart of her aspiration to become a physician. As a NeURO fellow, she will be conducting research in the Maduke Lab, investigating the molecular mechanisms of CLC-2, the most broadly expressed voltage-gated chloride-selective channel in the brain.

I am a first-generation college student at Foothill. I am part of the Foothill Puente program. I am full of optimism and good energy. I enjoy learning about new things regarding science and technology. I spend my free time discovering new music or finding new food spots to try out. I am pursuing an associate of science degree in radiology technology because I want to become a Radiology Technologist.

Amelia Spring (’24) is a sophomore majoring in psychology with an enthusiastic interest in neuroscience. Through the NeURO fellowship, they will be working in the Ricci lab investigating the mechanisms of hearing and hearing loss. In the future, they are interested in pursuing a career in psychiatry or clinical psychology. They are also passionate about issues of equity and justice, and serve on the Health Advocacy Committee of the Stanford Pre-Health Association (SPA) to spread education about health disparities in the local community.

My name is Isabel CaballeroTeixeira (25), I am currently a Sophomore at DeAnza majoring in Biology. I am extremely excited to be participating in this fellowship and help jump start my education into the research side of the sciences. From a young age I have always been interested in the sciences and learning how things communicate and work together. After my schooling I plan to become a microbiologist to contribute to understanding and solving the viruses and diseases that plague our society.

Lour Drick Valsote (‘24) is a sophomore at Stanford planning on studying human biology with a focus on neuroscience. Initially interested in the neural mechanisms behind language acquisition, he has since become eager to seek a better understanding of how the human brain works (and sometimes does not work!). As a NeURO Fellow, he plans to work with the Knowles Lab to research difficult to treat forms of pediatric epilepsy, such as Lennox Gastaut Syndrome. Beyond the lab, Lour Drick is also interested in studying foreign languages like Korean and Japanese.