This International Women’s Day, we are celebrating the smart, engaged, innovative students and post-docs in our Business Development and Keller Pathway Fellowship programs.

Read how their research will better our world:

Ipek T. Bahceci: What determines good governance

Ipek T. Bahceci is a Ph.D. student at UC Davis, working at the intersection of political economy of development and comparative politics. She uses statistical models and game theory to understand political mechanisms behind different levels of economic development around the world. Her research has a particular focus is on state capacity.

Jessica Briones: Alternative to steroid-based treatments for skin 

Jessica Briones is working toward a B.S. in biological sciences. She is interested in integrating the science of research with the social aspect of healthcare, and hopes to use her experience in biotechnology companies in the future. Following graduation, she plans to work in industry and then continue her journey towards a Ph.D.

Diane Dou: Connecting food science, statistics and business development

Diane Dou earned her B.E. in food science and engineering at Northwest A&F University in China. She expects to receive an M.S. in statistics and a Ph.D. in food science from UC Davis this year. Dou has experience in statistical modeling, digital platform design and operation optimization as a consulting intern at a leading CPG company.

Hanna Kahl: Farmer-focused technological advances

Hanna Kahl is a PhD. student in entomology. In her research she identifies trends and patterns involving citrus pests in the San Joaquin Valley by exploring a large database of data from actual citrus fields and conducting field experiments to validate and further understand these trends and patterns. She is interested in integrating relevant technological advances into agricultural practices in a farmer-focused way.

Tawny Scanlan: Sustainable aquaculture production in the face of global climate change

Tawny Scanlan is a doctoral candidate at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and is affiliated with the Meyers Gamete Biology Laboratory and the Animal Biology Graduate Group. She is interested in understanding the impact of global climate change on economically important fish species and developing reproductive biotechnology tools to make aquaculture production more sustainable.

Stacey Seidl: Network flexibly in response to cognitive and behavioral demands

Stacey Seidl is a Ph.D. candidate affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience, where she aims to improve our understanding of cognitive circuitry and neural communication. Her research focuses on how attention and learning can selectively process visual and motor input to help guide our behavior, by highlighting the role of neural communication and network dynamics.

Marwa Zafarullah: A biomarker for Fragile X -Associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS)

Marwa Zafarullah is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Integrative Genetics and Genomics (IGG) graduate program. She is currently working toward the development of a biomarker for the early diagnosis and progression of the nNeurological disorder called Fragile X -Associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS).