The PATHS Program operates within the Office of Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, receiving executive support and guidance from Vice Chancellor Becky Petitt and the EDI team in our collaborative pursuit of improved Inclusive Excellence at UC San Diego.
Dr. Gentry Patrick is a Professor in the Neurobiology Section of the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of California at San Diego. His lab studies the role of protein turnover in synaptic plasticity and neurodegenerative disease. He additionally is the Director of Mentorship and Diversity for the Division of Biological Sciences and is the Associate Director of the Neurosciences Graduate Program (NGP) at UC San Diego. Dr. Patrick was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles (where he attended King/Drew Medical Magnet high school in Watts, CA). Dr. Patrick received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1999 after working in the laboratory of Dr. Li-Huei Tsai. He was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and a United Negro College Fund/Merck postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Erin Schuman at California Institute of Technology. Dr. Patrick joined the UCSD faculty in 2004.
Dr. Patrick is dedicated to driving the overall vision for the PATHS Program as a pilot program model for institutional transformation and improved success of underserved students in STEM.
Guadalupe “Lupe” Cruz joined the team as the new Director of the PATHS Scholars Program. Lupe is a first-generation college graduate and professional who overcame various obstacles growing up in a socioeconomically disadvantaged home in Los Angeles, CA. During her time in college, Lupe gained a passion for serving other first-generation students on the path to and through college.
Lupe completed her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and obtained her Master of Arts in Educational and Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Lupe has over 7 years of professional experience working in higher education, non-profit community based organizations, and in providing counseling support to college students. Prior to UC San Diego, Lupe worked at the KIPP Through College Program in Los Angeles where she supervised the College Success Team that supported over 1,000 first-generation college students on their journey to college completion. As Director of the PATHS Scholars Program, Lupe provides oversight, assessment, and supervision to all aspects of the PATHS Scholars Program including, program development, staff supervision, grant and budget management, partnership representation, and direct support to Scholars.
Daniel Cardenas (he/him/his) is honored to provide day-to-day support to the PATHS program, it’s scholars, their families, as well as campus and community partners. Through his role, Daniel provides programmatic and special event direction, budget and fiscal tracking, curriculum design, and management of the high-touch scholar support that makes our program unique.
Daniel completed his Master’s in Education at Oregon State University and also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology from Sonoma State University. He holds over 13 years Student Affairs experience including three years at UCSD’s Raza Resource Centro. In his free time Daniel is a writer and spoken word poet; he loves to push the limits of how expressive art forms, particularly hip-hop, can be used to not only enhance scholar’s understanding of STEM, but also affirm their identity and culture.
Anh Mai was born and raised in San Diego and is a first generation college graduate. She is an alumnus of UC San Diego and received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.As the Program Manager, Anh provides administrative and fiscal support, creates marketing and promotional materials, and coordinates industry and lab opportunities for scholars. On her free time, she enjoys visiting national parks, cooking, and spending time with her Labradoodle, Loki.
Lennice Castro, from Norwalk, CA, is a graduate student in the Biological Sciences Program at UCSD with a focus in molecular biology. She is studying how the immune system has evolved "tripwire" defense systems that can sense viral infections by detecting the activity of viral proteases, and how viruses have evolved to counteract these systems. She hopes to contribute to this field by uncovering mechanisms involved in the host-virus evolutionary arms-race. Her ultimate goal is to continue as a scientist conducting research in the realm of host-pathogen interactions and infectious disease. As a PATHS Graduate Advocate, she plans to continue her passion for mentoring the next generation of diverse scientists by providing resources to sch, finding research opportunities, and providing moral support. Beyond the PATHS Program, Lennice is a host on the Triplicates Podcast, along with two other first-generation, women of color in STEM, where she hopes to demystify the STEM PhD and share how fun science can be. Lennice’s hobbies include vibing to music (usually R&B and reggaetón), eating at new restaurants, and enjoying the sunny SD beaches.
Victor Arango-Quiroga is a graduate student in the Master of Science in Computer Science program at UCSD. Victor immigrated to the U.S. in 2014 from Cali Colombia. During his undergrad at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Victor completed two research internships at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in NY and at the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. Both research projects were in the field of autonomous driving where he worked hands-on with robots and computer vision algorithms. He has participated in the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers (SHPE) and the Ford Hispanic Network (FHN) where he has helped to forge connections between local industries and undergraduate students. He also has 4+ years of professional experience as a Software Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer, and Tech Lead. Now, his academic goal is to gain expertise in the field of Machine Learning. One of his personal goals is to reduce the underrepresented communities gap in STEM by contributing with his experience working in diverse, low-income communities as well as teaching math and coding to young scholars. His hobbies include soccer, hiking, camping, exploring new restaurants and socializing with friends and family.
Rayyan Gorashi, from Los Angeles, California, is a second year PhD student in the Bioengineering Program at UCSD. She works in Dr. Brian Aguado’s lab where she studies sex differences in cardiovascular diseases. In the lab, Rayyan creates models of heart disease using tunable biomaterials to better understand how the sex chromosomes can lead to different disease presentations in males and females. Rayyan hopes to transition from academia to a career in industry or patent law. Outside of the lab, Rayyan fuels her passion for outreach and mentorship through the Bioengineering Graduate Society (BEGS). In BEGS, she serves as Vice President External where she helps manage STEM outreach, connections with local biotech industry networks, and professional development workshops. As a PATHS Graduate Advocate, she hopes to continue to provide PATHS Scholars with mentorship in a variety of areas. In her free time, Rayyan enjoys surfing, working out, baking, and video games.
Abbey Green, from Traverse City, Michigan, is a PhD student in the Neurosciences Graduate Program at UCSD. She is broadly interested in the clinical applications of computational neuroscience and machine learning. Currently, she is developing predictive biomarkers to improve diagnostics for Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration. Abbey graduated from Middlebury College in 2020 and completed a post-baccalaureate fellowship at the University of Washington. She then worked at Cajal Neuroscience, gaining research experience in novel therapy development for neurodegeneration. Currently, her academic goal is to gain expertise in the computational realm and apply this to a diverse set of biomedical problems. As a PATHS Graduate Advocate, she hopes to help others overcome barriers that she had to overcome herself. She has extensively benefited from programs similar to PATHS on her journey to graduate school and is always excited to share what she has learned along the way. Her hobbies include surfing, volleyball, listening to audiobooks, and hiking.
Wilfredo is a first-generation, low-income, underrepresented graduate student born and raised in Vega Baja Puerto Rico, pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics at the University of California, San Diego. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering and another Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. His current research, conducted in the precision medicine laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Melissa Gymrek, focuses on combining genetics, genomics, and social science to understand the underlying sources of large health disparities among individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups living in the United States. Ultimately, as a Hispanic/Latinx from Puerto Rico, Wilfredo would like to increase the recognition of the importance of including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in genomic research to improve the accuracy and generalizability of precision medicine for all. One of his favorite quotes created by himself is: “You can make anything happen, As long as you keep yourself centered”. Wilfredo believes research should be done in the right way, with the right integrity and right motives in mind to contribute for a better place to the world. And for fun, Wilfredo likes to travel and explore places with the goal of finding their best coffee shop in the area.
Tiffany is a first generation college student born in Monterey Park, CA, and daughter to immigrant parents. She now studies in San Diego with the goal of exploring the clinical and developmental fields within psychology. She hopes to apply her studies in a criminal setting, with the goal of decriminalizing and destigmatizing mental illness and mental health. Holding a minor in ethnic studies, Tiffany is also very passionate in studying the diverse and complex nature of our societies, and the role ethnicity and race plays within them. With this, she hopes to promote cultural and social competency, especially in the practice of law and health care. Outside of her academic and professional life, Tiffany enjoys discovering new food eateries, swimming, and indulging in true crime stories.