In May 2026, we celebrated our graduating seniors with a group bowling trip to Lucky Strike! Congratulations to Marisa Gomez (B.S. in Biology), Neftali Rocha-Martina (B.S. in Biology), Nigel Outley (B.S. in Biochemistry), Alexander Chavez (B.S. in Biochemistry), and Kennedy Melton (B.S. in Biochemistry).
On March 20, 2026, the Mouzakis Lab was well represented at LMU’s 18th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Nigel Outley gave an oral presentation and Marisa Gomez, Kennedy Melton, Neftali Rocha-Martin, and Alexander Chavez and Augustus Soedarmono each gave poster presentations on their research!
The Spring 2026 research team included 8 students! We had four seniors returning (Alex Chavez, Nigel Outley, Neftali Rocha-Martin, and Marisa Gomez) and four new students (Augustus Soedarmono, Kamryn Higa, Michelle Rodas, and Saumaun Zadeh) trying out the lab via rotations of various lengths (Gus completed a full semester, Kamryn joined us for ~2/3 semester, and Michelle and Saumaun joined us for the last 5-6 weeks). Below is a group photo from February 2026.
In November 2025, four students from the group gave presentations on their research! Alex Chavez and Lucas Bekele (first picture below) traveled to Cal State Channel Islands to present at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research (SCCURC) regional meeting. Nigel Outley (second picture below) and Neftali Rocha-Martin (third picture below) traveled to San Antonio, Texas to present at the National Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS).
In October 2025, Dr. Mouzakis presented our SARS-CoV-2 research and on the CHEM 373 CURE as part of the Seaver Spotlight: Celebrating a Decade of Research and Discovery (https://newsroom.lmu.edu/campusnews/seaver-spotlight-celebrating-a-decade-of-research-and-discovery/)
In the Fall 2025 semester, we had 7 students doing research in the group! It looks like we were too busy in lab to take a group picture this semester (oops!), but the group included: Kennedy Melton, Marisa Gomez, Neftali Rocha-Martin, Nigel Outley, Geraldray Ibara, Lucas Bekele, and Alexander Chavez. Welcome to the lab to our newest student, Alexander Chavez, who is joining us after participating in the CHEM 373 CURE in Spring 2025.
Summer Research in 2025 is in full swing, with two continuing students (Neftali Rocha-Martin and Nigel Outley) and two new students (Geraldray Ibara and Lucas Bekele) joining the group for summer session 1 (May-June)!
In May 2025, Dr. Mouzakis traveled to San Diego for the RNA Society meeting, where she gave an oral presentation (first picture below) on her CHEM 373 course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). During the meeting she also found some time to reconnect with San Diego based lab alumni (second picture below: Madison Maille (PhD student at UCSD), Dr. Rebecca Salamon (Post-doc at UCSD), Dr. Mouzakis, Kristal Stevens (PhD student at Scripps), and Jaynia Garcia(PhD student at UCSD).
We celebrated Day Yamegni’s graduation at the 2025 Commencement ceremony! Congratulations, Day!
The Mouzakis Lab heads to San Marcos on April 12, 2025 for the 47th Annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference (WCBSURC). Day Yamegni gives her first oral presentation (and wins the outstanding oral presentation award for her research presentation in the Biochemistry and Biophysics I session) and Marisa Gomez and Kennedy Melton each present posters.
Day Yamegni (top), Neftali Rocha-Martin and Nigel Outley (middle), and Kennedy Melton (bottom) present posters at the LMU 17th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on March 21, 2025:
Research resumes in the Mouzakis Lab in January 2025 with a great group of continuing students. Pictured below (from left to right): Dr. Mouzakis, Kennedy Melton, Marisa Gomez, Mwanday Yamegni, Nigel Outley, Neftali Rocha-Martin
Welcome to the world, future lab member, Aria Katerina de Silva (born May 15, 2024)
Celebrating Audrey Covington’s graduation from LMU at the 2024 commencement ceremony!
Three undergraduate students from the lab present their research at The NCUR national meeting (April 9, 2024). From left to right: Marisa Gomez (’26), Day Yamegni (LMU ’25), and Audrey Covington (’24).
Four undergraduate students from the lab present their research at LMU’s Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (March 15, 2024). Top picture: from left to right: Marisa Gomez (’26), Audrey Covington ( ’24), and Day Yamegni (’25). Bottom picture: Kennedy Melton (’26) and Dr. Mouzakis.
The Spring 2024 research team (below)! From left to right and top to bottom: Neftali Rocha-Martin (’26), Nigel Outley (’26), Audrey Covington (’24), Dr. Mouzakis, Marisa Gomez (’26), Kennedy Melton (’26), and Day Yamegni (’25)
The summer and Fall 2023 research team (below)! From left to right: Dr. Mouzakis, Audrey Covington (’24), Marisa Gomez (’26), and Day Yamegni (’25).
Celebrating Madison Maille’s graduation from LMU at commencement 2023:
Three undergraduate students from the lab present their research at LMU’s Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (March 17, 2023). From left to right: Madison Maille (LMU ’23), Audrey Covington (LMU ’24), and Day Yamegni (LMU ’25).
While in Madison for ASV (July 2022), Dr. Mouzakis caught up with lab alum Becky Soliman. Becky is a 4th year graduate student in Genetics at UW Madison and also producing amazing research!
Dr. Mouzakis presents our HTLV-1 research at RNA Society in June 2022.
Photos from LMU commencement 2022:
Mary Soliman and Dr. Mouzakis after Mary received the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Michael P. Geis Memorial Research Award in April 2022.
Jaynia Garcia and Dr. Mouzakis after Jaynia received the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry in April 2022.
Mary Soliman, Madison Maille, and Audrey Covington present their research at the 45th Annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research (WCBSUR) Conference in San Diego, CA, April 9, 2022.
Mary Soliman and Madison Maille attend their first discipline specific research conference and present at the ASBMB national meeting (April 2 – 5, 2022)
Five undergraduate students in the lab present their research at LMU’s Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (March 19, 2022), the first in-person event in two years!!
Dr. Mouzakis and Carolyn Egekeze (’20) celebrated at LMU’s in-person graduation ceremony (July 31, 2021).
Dr. Mouzakis celebrated her tenure and promotion to Associate Professor (official as of 8/15/21)!
The Summer 2021 research team:
An action shot from our summer 2021 lab home:
The Spring 2021 research team:
Leila Robinson (left) and Carolyn Egekeze (right) presenting at the Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research. San Marcos, CA, USA, November 23, 2019
Summer research group 2019 (left to right: Leila Robinson, Dr. Katie Mouzakis, Mary Soliman)
Mary Soliman (left), Leila Robinson (right), and Carolyn Egekeze presenting their first research poster at the Loyola Marymount University 11th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Los Angeles, CA, USA, March 23, 2019
Marcus Williams presents his research at the National Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in San Diego, CA, April 21 – 25, 2018.
Rebecca Salamon presents her first poster on our research at the Fort Lewis College FOCCUS poster session in June, 2015.
