CSUDH Student Research Conference 2026

This year, the Sanchez Lab showed up strong at the CSUDH Research Conference with four student presenters sharing their work!

We’re so proud of:

Nyla Henry — Talk title: Ecological, Behavioral, and Social impacts on infectious disease dynamics in urban free-roaming cats in Los Angeles County

Veronica Barrera — Talk title: Probiotics for the Pacific: Restoring Kelp Beds One Microbe at a Time, mentored by Emily Aguirre

Poster title: Birds of a Feather, Counted Together: Linking Habitat Features to Avian Diversity at CSUDH

Cassandra Bennett — Poster title: Ant Near-Infrared Reflectivity Responds to Climatic

Conditions, mentored by Dr. Terry McGlynn

Christian (CJ) Pasos— Talk title: Flock Around and Find Out: Investigating Avian Boldness and

Neophobia on CSUDH Campus; Poster title: Birds of a Feather, Counted Together: Linking Habitat Features to Avian Diversity at CSUDH

From urban ecology to animal behavior (and everything in between), our students did an incredible job communicating their research and representing the lab. Even more exciting—two of our students took home awards! Huge congratulations to:

CJ Pasos— Winner of the Biological Sciences Presentation Award

CJ Pasos and Veronica Barrera — Winners of the Campus as a Living Lab Sustainability Award

Beyond the presentations and awards, what made this conference special was the way everyone showed up for each other. Whether it was practicing talks, giving feedback, or cheering each other on during presentations, the support and community in the lab really stood out! It’s always inspiring to see our students doing thoughtful, creative, and impactful science and having fun along the way.

We’re already looking forward to next year!