Beyond Cancer Spotlight: Hannah Lui Park

Discover the journey of Hannah Park, MS, PhD, Associate Professor in Residence, Pathology and Epidemiology and Director, Athena Breast Health Network. Influenced by her childhood observations of how language and culture affect healthcare and lifestyle, Hannah was inspired to promote longer, healthier, and happier lives for all. Explore her story to discover her commitment to nurturing the curiosity of future generations and her standout performance in a "quirky" high school track and field event.

Judit Castellanos

Sr. Clinical Research Coordinator (Team B - Hematology)

juditc@hs.uci.edu | 714-509-2719

Since joining the Stern Center in 2022, Judit has hit the ground running by skillfully coordinating Phase I-III industry and cooperative group trials, with a focus on Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Multiple Myeloma trials. Recently, she has expanded her skills to include protocol amendments for Investigator-Initiated Trials as well as all aspects of the study startup process. Judit is known for her proactive approach, meticulous organization, and attention to detail. She has notably improved our team processes by centralizing notes and schedules on the OneNote platform and is praised for her exceptional communication skills with investigators and coordinators. Her technical acumen and collaborative spirit make her an invaluable asset to our team.

Please join us in congratulating Judit on her well-deserved promotion and welcoming her to her new role! 

Jacqueline (Jackie) Cedeno

Regulatory Affairs Coordinator (Hepato-Pancreas/Team G)

cedenoj@hs.uci.edu | 714-509-2938

Jackie received her MS in Regulatory Science from Arizona State University and BS in Biochemistry, minor in Spanish Linguistics. Jackie first started with us in May 2022 as an assistant regulatory affairs coordinator and has been managing the breast and hepatobiliary study portfolios, totaling well over 90 trials. Jackie has consistently demonstrated her knowledge and expertise in managing both portfolios. She continues to be one of our top 3 regulatory coordinators who activate the most trials during each quarter. She possesses high attention to detail, organized and inquisitive.

We are excited to see Jackie continue to flourish in this new role and continue being an invaluable member to our unit! 

Steven Duong

Clinical Research Coordinator

sduong3@hs.uci.edu

Steven Duong is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. He has 2 years of prior research experience in multiple roles, including Research Assistant experience with UCLA as a bench-side technician researching uveal melanoma pharmacology, Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator experience with the UCLA Ronald Reagan Emergency Department for various ED methodology improvement and investigational biomarker trials, and most recently Clinical Research Coordinator experience with Empire Clinical Research, an industry research site performing various vaccine and investigational product research. Welcome, Steven!

Krystina Jarema

Manager, Administrative Programs

kjarema@hs.uci.edu | 714-456-5806

Many of you may have crossed paths with Krystina who has worked nearly a decade of dedicated service at the Cancer Research Institute. Her extensive experience spans financial management, administrative operations, and program coordination. She is proficient in managing organizational budgets, conducting financial analysis, and producing annual reports. In addition, Krystina’s expertise extends to space management and overseeing post-award and programmatic administration, notably her role in coordination of the Youth Science Fellowship Program.

Please extend a warm welcome to Krystina who is joining the Research Administration team in her new role as Manager of Administrative Programs! She will be assisting in the management of research development/funding opportunities, shared resources, and space/facilities.

Christian Ramirez

Assistant Biospecimen Coordinator

crramir2@hs.uci.edu | 714-456-7242

Christian has a BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from UC Irvine. He brings 2.5 years of experience as a Eurofins laboratory technician conducting extractions of environmental test samples for chemical synthesis and analysis as well as COVID-19 patient testing with various knowledge of EDC and LIM Systems. Previously, he was also a pharmacy technician, where he coordinated patient medication pickups, requests, and consultations. Christian is looking forward to applying his experience to his new role within the Biospecimen Lab. Welcome, Christian!

Jamie Wang

Clinical Research Coordinator (GU Team/Team F)

jingjw@hs.uci.edu | 714-456-8231

Jamie has a BA in Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies, where she gained initial research experience as an undergraduate researcher coordinating with ecology scientists within the community. She has two years of experience with neurology research coordination, working with patients who suffered from catastrophic brain injuries and stroke. With her previous unit, she also worked with neurological devices and helped with IRB submissions. Jamie then transitioned to oncology with the Stern Center where she learned to coordinate Ph II-III national and industry trials over the past year. Jamie quickly picked up complex oncological concepts and displayed strong analytical skills. Those skills coupled with her attention to detail and efficiency enabled her to help clean up older trials within the team and take on more challenging trials. Jamie is a fantastic asset to our unit!

Researchers build first reference map for harmful DNA

A team led by Wei Li (above left, with co-corresponding authors Ya Cui, Wenbin Ye and Jason Sheng Li) has built the first genetic reference maps for short lengths of DNA that are repeated multiple times and are known to cause more than 50 lethal human diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Huntington’s disease and multiple cancers. 

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