Eduardo Arenas

Major and Classification Urban Planning and Development Faculty Mentors Professor Martin Krieger Department Planning and Development McNair Project “The Gentrification of Boyle Heights” This research paper seeks to understand how the local state uses the redevelopment process to gentrify low-income Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Gentrification is commonly known to displace low-income residents, and replace them with higher-income residents by …

Elizabeth Ontaneda

Major and Classification International Relations, Economics Faculty Mentors Professor Carol Wise & Professor Clara Irazabal Department International Relations McNair Project “Spatializing governance: the construction of an alternative geography of citizenship in Villa El Salvador, Lima, Peru” The urban “slum” settlement, or barriada, of Villa El Salvador in Lima, Peru is a relevant working case study for Lima’s geographically and socially …

Janis Dossen

Major and Classification Biochemistry Faculty Mentors Professor Valter Longo Department Molecular Gerontology McNair Project “Longevity in S. Cerevisiae” Recently published studies on model systems such as yeast, worms, and fruit flies suggest that longevity in many eukaryotes may be regulated by fundamental mechanisms specific to stress resistance and growth. The replicative life span of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) is one paradigm …

John Russell

Major and Classification Broadcast Journalism, Political Science Faculty Mentors Professor Mary Dudziak Department Law School McNair Project “Examining the trade agreement between U.S. and sub-Sahara Africa” At the birth of the new millennium, the U.S. and sub-Sahara Africa opted to develop ties with each other after centuries of estrangement. In 2000, both parties entered into a trade agreement, which is …

Leticia Franco

Major and Classification Business Administration Faculty Mentors Professor Roberto Lint Sagarena Department Sociology McNair Project “Oaxacan Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Los Angeles: An Ethnographic Study of Zapotec Restaurant Owners” This study compares Oaxacan immigrant entrepreneurs in Los Angeles to other immigrant ethnic minority entrepreneurs in an effort to explain the factors/experiences that have led these individuals to become self-employed entrepreneurs. Although …

Marissa Corona

Major and Classification Psychology Faculty Mentors Professor Shannon Daley Department Psychology McNair Project “Quality of Friendships Among Ethnic Minority Adolescents and the Effects on Psychological Adjustment” This study examines the quality of close friendships among ethnic minority adolescents to determine any differences between genders and between ethnicities. One-hundred seventy 10th grade students from Manual Arts High School in South Los …

Michelle Ovalle

Major and Classification Psychology Faculty Mentors Professor Lynn Miller Department Psychology, Communication McNair Project “Short-term relationships: Are partner preferences self-regulating emotional (and sexual) outcomes?” Despite extensive research on the sexual mating strategies of men and women in short-term relationships, it is still unclear what men and women are seeking in a short-term partner, and why these specified preferences exist. Previous …

Nathaniel Dumas

Major and Classification Cinema Faculty Mentors Professor Lanita Jacobs – Huey Department Anthropology McNair Project “CONTESTING PORKY AND WANDA CRITIQUING MAINSTREAM MEDIA IN THE STUTTERING COMMUNITY” This paper examines how members of stutterers support groups critically engage mainstream representations of their speech in popular culture (e.g., movies, news reports, etc.). Drawing from ethnographic observations of two Southern California stuttering support …

Patrick Popa

Major and Classification Biology, Psychology Faculty Mentors Professor Albert A. Herrera Department Biological Sciences, Neurobiology McNair Project “An Assessment of Synapse Elimination in Xenopus laevis” Using various stages of Xenopus laevis frog tadpoles as reference specimens, this research seeks to answer how synapse elimination occurs (i.e. the underlying mechanisms behind mononeuronal innervation) and the possible role of synapse activity (synaptic …

Alexis Pankey

Major and Classification African American Studies Faculty Mentors Professor Janelle Wong Department Political Science McNair Project “Political Socialization: What does the African American experience reveal about how immigrants are being incorporated?” Today, one of every five Americans, over fifty-five million people, are immigrants or the children of immigrants. (Portes and Rumbaut 2001) With immigrants representing an increasing proportion of the …