CSCI Student Research

Student Research Assistant Program

The experience of being an undergraduate student research assistant is the pinnacle academic experience for any science student and a proven best practice. The College of Science is working to expand the number of students who have the opportunity to participate in this program in order to (1) Transform students into thinking of themselves as scientists through being entrusted by an experienced researcher with crucial pieces of equipment or critical processes (2) Increase employability upon graduation and the odds of acceptance into graduate school (3) Help students pay their tuition while working in their field and allows them to find mentors in the industry.

Student testimonies

"I feel that this experience was a meaningful part of the reason that I just received a job offer from Kaiser, and that the experience I gained while working on this project will help me to be more successful in my new role. I offer my most sincere thanks to the funders of this project for giving me this wonderful opportunity." - Kelly Radimer, Statistics (Mentor: Eric Suess)
"Doing research has opened and broadened my knowledge in the way that I see and study chemistry. This is because the research integrates materials from lectures and labs from first year chemistry to fourth year chemistry. I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge in both theory and lab, based on projects that I have done. doing research with Dr. Groziak was part of the reason I was selected for the ASPIRES summer internship program at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Overall, research at CSU East Bay has been a massive gateway for me to explore science in general and for that reason I say thank you to the donors, Dr. Groziak and Cal State University, East Bay." - Prince Kanukwa, Chemistry ( Mentor: Dr. Michael Groziak )
"This research experience impacts my career plans by providing me with the opportunity to learn the many processes involved in conducting experiments. From developing different experiments to analyzing data, this project provides intensive training on laboratory techniques that are commonly used in the industry, providing me with a solid understanding of what a career in research entails." - Timothy (Tim) Catbagan, Biochemistry, ( Mentor: Dr. Monika Sommerhalter )
"The research I am participating in gets me to a deeper understanding of how functions of genes are determined in research. The research experience also furthers my understanding of the methods and theories such as those that involve how nucleic acids are used and how they function in the cell learned throughout my academic course work. This research reinforces my understanding and familiarizes me with instruments, materials, reagents, and enzymes used in industry and scientific research." - Jhersie Cabigting, Biochemistry ( Mentor: Dr. Ann McPartland )
"This research is an opportunity for me to hone the problem solving skills that I鈥檝e learned throughout my college career. The process of conducting original research requires both an understanding of the theoretical aspect of biochemistry as well as an understanding of experimental procedures and I thoroughly believe that this experience will help me in my future career as a physician. " - Darren Hussey, Biochemistry ( Mentor: Dr. Ann McPartland )
"This research project is providing an opportunity to use the knowledge of chemistry and biochemistry I have gained in my classes. I am being challenged to think about the steps needed to solve research problems. It is very satisfying to be working independently in a lab. I feel this enhances my education and makes me feel like I am accomplishing something in addition to just taking classes and running through the experiments designed for lab. The research experience is making me feel more comfortable performing original experiments and I think this will help me in my future career as a researcher in industry." - Elijah de Guia, Biochemistry ( Mentor: Dr. Ann McPartland )
" The research I do reinforces the background information and basic principles that have been taught to me as a Chemistry major especially in these past two years. Research as a part of my education has been beneficial in gaining some hands-on experience and gaining a better understanding. What I have learned in research, I have put into practice in my work as well. Overall, research has been an insightful journey both for my education and for my career." - John Juanitas, Chemistry ( Mentor: Dr. Stephanie Zaleski )
"In addition to the lab experiments, I presented at three different conferences. I won first place in the prestigious Dolores C. Shockley Competition - named after the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D. in Pharmacology. I also won first place at the recent CSU Student Research Competition and competed against graduate and undergraduate students across the 23 CSU campuses." - Taylor Quintana, Psychology & Biology (Mentor: Ram Kandasamy)
"Being a paid student research assistant was an amazing opportunity, especially as a first-year graduate student. As I am a first-generation Mexican American student, graduate school came with its own unique obstacles and challenges. As I had lost my job due to the pandemic, it was great to be able to solely focus on my research and schoolwork and not have to worry about needing to work another job." - Alejandra Moreno, Biological Sciences and Chemistry (Mentor: Ana Almeida)
"Truth be told, this program helped more than I ever thought it would. For starters, I have been doing research for almost two years and never imagined that I would be so lucky as to get paid for it. Throughout this semester specifically, I was able to set up and test my own installation of NASA's HEASARC software. This was done in order to analyze UVOT data from the SWIFT telescope." - Jarred Gray, Chemistry (Mentor: Amy Furniss)

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