This post was updated Sept. 1 at 9:42 a.m.

At the 2024 UCLA Undergraduate Research Week, life science students were given the Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Research and Creative Inquiry, an award recognizing students who presented excellent faculty-mentored research and dedication.

Eliana Bohn, an alumnus who studied molecular, cell and developmental biology, received the Dean’s Prize in late May for her three-year research project on gene expression. Bohn said her project concluded that certain alterations to histones – which are involved in gene expression – influence whether cells stop dividing and are relevant in cancer and fibrosis.

She said her research journey at UCLA began with a string of cold emailing. Although Bohn did not initially feel qualified to join a real lab because her introductory lab course – formerly known as Life Sciences 23L – at UCLA was conducted online, she said she ended up loving her lab environment. Her mentor was very supportive, she added.

“The truth is, you just have to go for it,” Bohn said. “I think people respond really well to you being passionate and being excited.”

Alumnus Abigail Holder, who studied psychobiology, also received the Dean’s Prize for an independent research project within her lab. She said her research journey was inspired by her parents, who are both involved in computer science research.

Holder, who was previously Video staff for the Daily Bruin, said her project investigated Mowat-Wilson Syndrome, a genetic condition that impairs speech. Using birdsong as an animal model of human speech, she studied the effect of a gene on neural circuits in speech development.

Holder said her project required many measurements of cell activity and a significant time commitment to perfecting effective methodology. Each data point, she added, was produced from her own independent tissue collection and experimentation because her lab only had one PhD student.

“I guess that’s a little bit unique, especially for the life sciences, and that was something that I really enjoyed,” Holder said.

Nicole Huang, an alumnus who studied human biology and society, said she worked on a biomedical research project investigating the damaging autoimmunity that results from a certain type of cancer immunotherapy. The therapy causes the immune system of some patients to overactivate and attack healthy tissue, leading to diabetes, she said.

Huang said she enjoyed sharing her research with the public at the Undergraduate Research Week.

“It was really exciting because I think putting together what you’ve worked on over the last year is a nice way to end things off on a good note,” she said.

Huang also said she was honored to receive the Dean’s Prize, especially because there were many competitive applicants. Bohn added that she had looked up to individuals in her lab who had previously won the prize.

“When I did (get the award), I immediately called my dad,” Bohn said. “I tell him all about how hard I’ve been working at the lab, and he was really proud.”

Bohn – who will be starting a doctoral program in biochemistry, structural, cell developmental and molecular biology at Weill Cornell Medicine in the fall – said students looking into research should show up with enthusiasm and enroll in related classes.

Holder said she advises undergraduates to find a great mentor and the right lab environment if they want to pursue research. While she plans to work for the National Institute of Health in the short term, she hopes to eventually pursue a postdoctoral degree in neuroscience and sees research as her broader career goal.

Huang said she is applying to medical school and considering an MD and PhD dual degree.

“There were so many presentations and projects and topics that I’ve never heard of, and I think it’s really impressive how much there is at UCLA,” Holder said. “It’s really a Mecca for a lot of research.”