BIO5 Director's Award Recipients

Zaneta Navratilova

Originally from the Czech Republic, Zaneta moved to Tucson at the age of 11. She attended the U of A, and double majored in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Psychology. Zaneta participated in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP), working in the labs of Mani Ramaswami (MCB) and Carol Barnes (Psychology). In those labs, her projects included identification of genes involved in synaptic plasticity, and the testing of spatial memory, which has possible application in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Maureen Peterson

Maureen graduated from the University of California, Davis with her degree in Genetics. While there, she worked in the lab of Peter Hernes in the Department of Chemistry. Her research focused on the analysis of fatty acids dissolved in the California State Water Project. She would like her future work to revolve around the identification of human disease genes and possible uses of gene therapy.

John Totenhagen

John graduated with honor receiving a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from North Dakota State University. He had the opportunity to work as a research assistant in a cardiovascular engineering laboratory with Dan Ewert, and also completed a summer internship with a research team at a leading biomedical device company in Minnesota. John's extracurricular activities involved participation in student government and participation on a solar race car team. He led the solar array team for the car that competed in the 2003 American Solar Challenge, which placed first in its class. John is an engineer with interests in biology and biomedicine.

Barbara Mooney

Barbara graduated from Vermont's Norwich University with a degree in Biochemistry, and minors in chemistry and mathematics. She graduated summa cum laude and was valedictorian of her class. Barbara was actively involved in research working in Scott Morrical's laboratory in the Biochemistry Department, and through her tutoring experience found that she has a passion for teaching. Her background and interests are multidisciplinary at the interface of chemistry and biology.