2026:
January – July
- Kamryn Higa heads to Boston for the summer to participate in an NSF-funded REU Program in Integrated Nanomanufacturing at Boston University. Have fun, Kamryn!
- Lab almuna, Madison Mailee, received an NIH Predoctoral Individual National Research Service (F31) Award!
- Dr. Mouzakis presented a poster on their SARS-COV-2 research at the RNA society meeting in Montreal, Canada on May 27, 2026
- Dr. Mouzakis gave an oral presentation on her independent scientific career trajectory at the 43rd Steenbock Symposium in Madison, WI on May 16, 2026, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dr. Sam Butcher’s Lab.
- Congratulations to our recent graduates: Neftali Rocha-Martin (B.S. in Biology), Nigel Outley (B.S. in Biochemistry), Marisa Gomez (B.S. in Biology), Kennedy Melton (B.S. in Biochemistry), and Alexander Chavez (B.S. in Biochemistry). You will be missed!
- At the 18th Annual LMU Undergraduate Symposium in March, Nigel Outley gave an oral presentation on his work and Kennedy, Marisa, and Neftali Rocha-Martin each presented individual posters. Alexander Chavez and Augustus Soedarmono presented a group poster.
- Research continues with a great group of graduating seniors (Nigel Outley, Marisa Gomez, Neftali Rocha-Martin, Alexander Chavez) and lots of new student rotators (Augustus Soedarmono, Kamryn Higa, Saumaun Zadeh, and Michelle Rodas) trying out the group!
2025:
August – December
- Congratulations to Geraldray Ibarra, who graduated in December with a B.S. in Biology!
- At the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) in November 2025, Nigel Outley and Neftali Rocha-Martin each presented individual posters.
- At the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) in November 2025, Alexander Chavez and Lucas Bekele gave a group poster.
- At the LMU Seaver Spotlight on October 8, 2025, Dr. Mouzakis presented on our SARS-CoV-2 research and the CHEM 373 CURE.
- Research begins with the start of the Fall Semester. Six students (Kennedy Melton, Marisa Gomez, Nigel Outley, Neftali Rocha-Martin, Lucas Bekele, and Geraldray Ibara) are continuing and one new student, Alexander Chavez, joins the lab. Welcome Alex! Kennedy and Marisa spend lots of time writing their Honors Theses while other students work diligently in the lab.
May – July
- Nigel Outley presented a poster on his work at the SCSE Summer Research Poster Session in June 2025.
- At the RNA Society national meeting in San Diego on May 29, 2025, in the inaugural session on Training Future Scientists Through RNA Research, Dr. Mouzakis presented her work on a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) she has run for three semesters (SP 23, 24, 25) in the Advanced Biochemistry Laboratory Course (CHEM 373). While in San Diego, she also reconnected with lab alumni: Kristal Stevens (graduate student at Scripps), Jaynia Garcia (graduate student at UCSD), Madison Maille (graduate student at UCSD), and Rebecca Salamon (post-doc at UCSD).
- Summer research begins with 4 students: Nigel Outley (supported by SCSE SOAR), Neftali Rocha- Martin (supported by SURP), and Lucas Bekele (supported by Rains) and Geraldray Ibara (supported by Rains). Welcome to our newest group members, Lucas and Gerald!
- Mwanday (Day) Yamegni graduates from LMU in May with her B.S. in Biochemistry! She is off to Stanford University to participate in the Clinical Observation and Medical Transcription (COMET) Program during her gap year before applying to medical school.
January – April
- In April, at the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference (WCBSURC), Mwanday Yamegni gave an oral presentation, for which she received a presentation award, and Marisa Gomez and Kennedy Melton each presented individual posters.
- In March, at the LMU Undergraduate Research Symposium, Kennedy Melton and Mwanday Yamegni each presented individual posters. Nigel Outley and Neftali Rocha-Martin presented a group poster.
- In January, research resumed with 5 continuing students: Mwanday (Day) Yamegni, Kennedy Melton, Marisa Gomez, Nigel Outley, and Neftali Rocha-Martin. All students begin work on independent projects!
2024:
May – December
- Dr. Mouzakis welcomes future lab member, Aria Katerina de Silva, to the world on May 15, 2024. Dr. Mouzakis is on maternity leave with Aria until January 2025.
- Nigel Outley participates in the 10-week RNA Bioscience Internship program at the University of Colorado Medical School Anschutz campus.
January – April
- Dr. Mouzakis presents their research on the SARS-CoV-2 project at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting on March 23, 2024
- Kennedy Melton presented an individual poster at the LMU Undergraduate Research Symposium in March 2024.
- Audrey Covington, Marisa Gomez, and Mwanday Yamegni presented a group poster at the LMU Undergraduate Research Symposium in March 2024.
- Audrey Covington, Marisa Gomez, and Mwanday Yamegni presented a group poster at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research in Long Beach, CA in April 2024.
- Three new students join the lab in January! Welcome Kennedy Melton, Nigel Outley, and Neftali Rocha-Martina.
2023:
September – December
- Marisa Gomez, Day Yamegni, and Audrey Covington continue to make great progress in the lab!
August
- Audrey Covington is awarded an Outstanding Student Presentation Award for her presentation in June at the RNA@PUI virtual seminar series!!
July
- Dr. Mouzakis heads back east to join the Hargrove Lab at Duke University for a month to complete the NSF supported sabbatical project started in 2022.
May – June
- Audrey Covington, Mwanday Yamegni, and Marisa Gomez presented a poster at the SCSE Summer Research Symposium in June 2023
- Audrey Covington presents the group’s research at the RNA@PUI seminar series virtual
- Summer undergraduate research is underway for 6 weeks!
- Three students are supported by two LMU summer research programs: Day and Marisa by the LMU Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), and Audrey by the the Seaver Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR) program.
- One new student, Maris Gomez, joins the lab!
May
- Madison Maille graduates with her B.S. in Biochemistry and will soon be starting graduate school at the University of California San Diego!!
- Lab alum Kristal Stevens also graduates with her B.S. and will head to the Scripps Research Institute (also in San Diego)
April
- Madison Maille receives the LMU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Senior Award for achievement and interest in Biochemistry.
- Madison Maille presented a poster at the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference in April 2023.
- Lab alum Kristal Stevens receives the LMU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Michael P. Geis Memorial Research Award.
March
- The lab presents a group research poster on our HTLV-1 gag-pro project at the annual LMU Undergraduate Research Symposium.
January
- The Mouzakis Lab resumes in-person research with undergraduate research students Madison Maille, Audrey Covington, and Day Yamegni (a new lab member!! Welcome, Day!)
- Dr. Mouzakis returns from sabbatical!
2022:
July & August
- Dr. Mouzakis finishes up work on the NSF supported project in the Hargrove lab and relocates back to Los Angeles.
- Dr. Mouzakis presents our HTLV-1 research at the American Society for Virology Meeting in Madison, WI
June
- Dr. Mouzakis heads to Duke University for two months of NSF ROA supported research in Dr. Amanda Hargrove’s lab.
- Dr. Mouzakis present our HTLV-1 research at the Biorganic Gordon Research Conference in Andover, NH.
- Dr. Mouzakis presents our HTLV-1 research at RNA Society in Boulder, CO.
May
- Madison Maille starts her Amgen Scholars REU at Duke University in Dr. Amanda Hargrove’s Lab.
- Leila Robinson, Cole Melton, Mary Soliman, and Jaynia Garcia graduate from LMU!! We are so proud of all you accomplished and will miss you in lab.
- Madison Maille and Mary Soliman presented their research as posters (virtually) at the HTLV 2022 meeting.
- Mary Soliman’s future plans at the NIH are highlighted in an LMU press release (link)
April
- Mary Soliman receives the LMU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Michael P. Geis Memorial Research Award.
- Jaynia Garcia receives the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry.
- The University Honors Program recognized Dr. Mouzakis for exceptional mentorship of student scholarly and creative work with an LMU Honors Program Honorable Mentor Award.
- Leila Robison accepts a job (start date in September 2022) in the lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that she did 2021 summer research with.
- Michael Liu, former lab member, is accepted to the NIH IRTA Postbaccalaureate Research program to conduct research in the area of psychology.
- Madison Maille, Mary Soliman, and Audrey Covington each present research posters (in-person) at the 45th Annual West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research (WCBSUR) Conference, which was held in San Diego, CA.
- Audrey receives the “Best Poster Award” for her presentation!
- Madison Maille and Mary Soliman each present research posters (in-person) at the 2022 National Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), which was held in Philadelphia, PA.
- Dr. Mouzakis gives an invited, oral presentation on our research at Locus Biosciences in Durham, NC.
March
- Madison Maille, Leila Robinson, Cole Melton, Audrey Covington, and Mary Soliman present research posters (in-person) at the LMU Undergraduate Research Symposium.
- Audrey Covington was accepted to the Harbor-UCLA/LMU Summer Research Program, where she will participate in 2 weeks of surgical and medical shadowing followed by 6 weeks of full-time clinical research over the summer of 2022.
- Madison Maille was accepted to the Amgen Scholars Program at Duke University, where she will conduct research full-time for 10 weeks over the summer of 2022.
- Kristal Stevens was accepted to the Summer Research Opportunities at Harvard program, where she will conduct research full-time for 10 weeks over the summer of 2022.
February
- Jaynia Garcia was accepted to the NIH Intramural NIAID Research Opportunities Postbaccalaureate Research program and is joining Dr. Ronald Germain’s group in June 2022 following her graduation.
January
- Mary Soliman is invited to join an RNA research group led by Dr. Sandra Wolin and will start work at NIH in June 2022 following her graduation.
- Dr. Mouzakis starts her Calendar Year sabbatical!
2021:
December
- Cole Melton and Leila Robinson complete the written component of their senior thesis requirements!! Congratulations – their hard work and effort really showed in the impressive pieces of writing they both produced.
November
- Mary Soliman gives an oral presentation on her research at the Virtual 2021 Southern California Conference for Undergraduate research.
- Madison Maille, Cole Melton, and Audrey Covington each present research posters at the Virtual 2021 Southern California Conference for Undergraduate research.
October
- Kristal Stevens presents her research as a poster at the Virtual 2021 SACNAS National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Digital Conference.
September
- Cole Melton and Leila Robinson being working on their Biology Honors Theses with Dr. Mouzakis acting as their advisor
- Mary Soliman, Madison Maille, and Audrey Covington resume research in the lab for the Fall semester
- Jaynia Garcia, a senior biochemistry major, joins the lab! Welcome, Jaynia!
July
- Mary Soliman is an NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program Recipient! Congratulations, Mary.
- Lab alum, Carolyn Egekeze (B.S. 2020), walks in LMU’s in-person graduation ceremony.
- Kristal Stevens presents her research as a poster at the 2021 Virtual National McNair Conference at UCLA.
- Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Mouzakis have a publication accepted in The Biophysicist. The article, “An Approach to Transitioning Undergraduate Biochemistry Laboratory Courses Online” is in press and will be published in 2021.
June:
- Kristal, Mary, Audrey, Madison, and Mary conclude their summer 6-week full-time research positions. We had a fun, productive, and successful time together in the lab. Madison and Mary will continue doing experiments for an additional 1-2 weeks in July to wrap up their research.
May:
- Dr. Mouzakis receives an LMU Ascending Scholar Award (https://academics.lmu.edu/ofd/facultyawards/ ) and is notified of her tenure and promotion to Associate Professor!
- Madison Maille, Cole Melton, and Michael Liu are awarded LMU Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) positions! Madison and Cole were also awarded Honors Summer Research Fellowships and will continue their research in our lab this summer. Michael will start a new project with a mentor in the Psychology Department. We are excited to see what each of you accomplish!
- Two new students join the lab! Kristal Stevens, a McNair Scholar, and Audrey Covington, a SURP student and Rains Research Assistant, will do research with us for the first time this summer! Welcome, Kristal and Audrey!
April:
- Dr. Mouzakis is awarded a Teacher of Undergraduate Students Registration Award to attend the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology in July, 2021.
- Mary Soliman is awarded a position in LMU’s Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR) Program for summer 2021!
- Leila Robinson is awarded a REU position at the Fred Hutchinshon Cancer Research Center for summer 2021!
January:
- Returning research students are welcomed back to campus for in-person research! We are thrilled to have our students back in the lab.
- A new student, Cole Melton, joined the lab and is conducting research virtually this semester. Welcome, Cole!
2020:
October: Dr. Mouzakis is featured in a local article in the Argonaut, https://argonautnews.com/hope-from-a-local-scientist/, and was interviewed for a biomedgirls podcast https://www.biomedigirls.com/our-podcast.
August: Lab alumni are off to bigger and better things!
- Carolyn Egekeze was accepted to the NIH Postbaccalaureate IRTA program and will be starting in Dr. Mary Dasso’s lab (link) in January!
- Marcus Williams heads to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to begin a post-bac program in Biomedical Engineering.
- Andrew Cooper-Sansone begins a Masters in Journalism program with an emphasis on Scientific Writing at the University of Colorado Boulder.
July: Dr. Mouzakis’ took over LMU’s instagram account for a day. Check out the story by following the link below:
June: We received our first grant to pursue research on SARS-CoV-2! We are super excited for this new direction and collaboration.
May: Lab senior, Carolyn Egekeze, earns the presidential citation. Dr. Mouzakis presents our work at the CSHL Retroviruses meeting.
April: Our HTLV-1 pro-pol research is published in RNA
January: Two new students joined the lab! Welcome to Madison Maille and Michael Liu!
2019:
October: Dr. Mouzakis presents our research on HTLV-1 at the University of Southern California Chemical Biology Seminar Series.
May: Lab Alumna Eliza Thulson is awarded a prestigious NSF GRF
April: Leila, Carolyn, and Mary present their research at LMU’s Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.
April: Dr. Mouzakis presents our research on HTLV-1 at Haverford College’s Department of Chemistry Seminar Series.
January: Three new students join our team. Welcome Leila Robinson, Mary Soliman, and Carolyn Egekeze!
2018:
September: Dr. Mouzakis presents our research on HTLV-1 at Harvey Mudd College’s Biology Colloquium.
August: Two new students join our team. Welcome Katerina Harrop and Douglas Kitchen! The Mouzakis lab moves from Fort Lewis College to Loyola Marymount University.
May – July: Rebecca Salamon heads off to the University of Wisconsin – Madison to start her graduate career in Genetics! Dr. Mouzakis spends the summer as a visiting faculty member doing research in Dr. Jeffrey Kieft’s lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
April: Three students from the lab present their research at the National Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Way to go Emily, Andrew, Marcus!
January: Two new students join the team! Welcome, Walter Potter and Harry Spencer.
September: One new student, Marcus Williams, joins the research team. Welcome Marcus! Seven new students start HTLV-1 -1 PRF related research projects in the context of CHEM 496, a course-based undergraduate research capstone course. Best of luck for a successful semester of research.
2017:
May – July: Dr. Mouzakis spends the summer as a visiting faculty member doing research in Dr. Jeffrey Kieft’s lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Current and future members of the lab, Emily White and Andrew Cooper-Sansone, participate in the University of Colorado School of Medicine RBI Summer Internship Program.
May: Eliza Thulson (formerly Finke) heads off to the University of North Carolina to start her graduate career in Genetics and Molecular Biology! Erin Gaffney heads off to the University of Utah to start her graduate career in Chemistry. Dr. Mouzakis earns the Fort Lewis College New Faculty Teaching Award.
February: Mouzakis lab receives $400,000 in external funding to study viral RNA structures!!!
January: Three new students, Uriah Contreras, Andrew Cooper-Sansone, and Elena Mylroie, join the research team. Welcome Uriah, Andrew, and Elena!
2016:
December: Eliza Thulson (formerly Finke) presents her research at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology.
September: A new student, Erin Gaffney, joins the lab. Welcome Erin!
May – July: Dr. Mouzakis, Eliza Thulson (formerly Finke), and Rebecca Salamon have a productive summer of research.
May: Natalie Joe heads off to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to start her graduate career in Cellular and Molecular Medicine!
January – May: Students in CHEM 411 (Advanced Biochemistry Lab) participate in a course-based undergraduate research experience designed around our HTLV-1 research.
September: NIH MARC student Leandrew Dailey rotates in the lab. Welcome Leandrew!
2015:
September: NIH MARC student Natalie Joe joins the team. Welcome Natalie!
May – July: Dr. Mouzakis, Devon Chadeayne, Rebecca Salamon, Jamie Lee, and Eliza Thulson (formerly Finke) have a productive summer of research. Welcome to Rebecca, Jamie, and Eliza!
April: Devon Chadeayne, Kathryn Durnford, and Dr. Mouzakis present their work at ASBMB.
January: Three new students join the lab. Welcome Austin Derksen, Melanie Walker, and Grace Sheridan!
2014:
September: Antonia Atene officially joins the research team following her course-based research experience in CHEM 411.
August: Dr. Mouzakis and Kathryn Durnford make a short trip to Dr. Kieft’s lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine to learn the ins and outs of chemical probing.
May – July: Dr. Mouzakis, Devon Chadeayne, and Kathryn Durnford have a productive summer of research. Welcome Devon and Kat!
May: Amanda Broad heads off to the Colorado State University to start her graduate career in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology!
January – April: Several of our HTLV-1 research projects are started from the ground up in the context of CHEM 411 (Advanced Biochemistry Lab). Three new students join the lab. Welcome Amanda Broad, Jason Mackenzie, and Melvina Lake!
2013:
The Mouzakis lab is established at Fort Lewis College.
