Grand Challenges Initiative
Our People
» Meet the GCI Team
Dr. Javier Espeleta
Co-Director of the Grand Challenges Initiative
jespeleta@chapman.edu
Dr. Espeleta is a clinical associate professor of biological sciences and began as the co-director of the Grand Challenges Initiative in 2023. Espeleta has more than 20 years of experience leading international organizations at the interface of science, conservation, and education. He has previously served as the director of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Costa Rican study abroad program, the executive director of the Tropical Science Center, and the associate director of the University of Arizona’s Biosphere II. He is passionate about training the next generation of leaders in science and engineering; he has developed undergraduate and graduate curriculum on themes including agroecology, crop management, and global health. Espeleta is broadly trained as a plant physiological ecologist and holds a Ph.D. in plant biology from the University of Georgia, a M.Sc. in horticultural science from University of Florida and an B.Sc. in phytotechnology from the University of Costa Rica.
Dr. Tom Piechota
Co-Director of the Grand Challenges Initiative
piechota@chapman.edu
Dr. Piechota’s research interests center around the investigation of climate impacts on regional water resources and society using high resolution climate data/information, forecasting of water supply under changing climate conditions, drought and flood impacts in urban stormwater in urban environments, use of remote sensing data and geographic information systems for improved evaluation of hydrology and water systems.
Current Fellows
Every Grand Challenges Initiative team is mentored by a Postdoctoral Fellow. Our fellows are world-class early-career teacher-scholars. They come from diverse research backgrounds, ranging from cancer genetics to atmospheric chemistry.
What the Fellows all have in common is a desire to share their passion for science and engineering with students. GCI student teams are assigned a fellow at the beginning of each semester.
Dr. Aracely Acevedo
aracevedo@chapman.eduDr. Acevedo earned her Ph.D. in molecular, cellular, and integrative physiology from UCLA. Her doctoral studies focused on investigating the mechanism of action by which the pharmacological agent BT2 confers protection from heart failure and metabolic disease in mice. Her findings resulted in a publication titled "The BCKDK inhibitor BT2 is a chemical uncoupler that lowers mitochondrial ROS production and de novo lipogenesis" (PMID: 38301896). The goal of her post-doctoral research project is to determine the effects of arginine methylation of PGC-1alpha by PRMTs in the context of cold-induced thermogenesis and diet-induced thermogenesis. Dr. Acevedo's mission is to contribute to metabolism & nutrition education and research with the aim to improve the metabolic health of human beings.
Dr. Sarah Arnette
arnette@chapman.eduDr. Arnette is a comparative biomechanist interested in the impact of changing environmental conditions across time scales on fish mechanics and physiology. Her current work focuses on how fishes of different shapes interact with their environment and using fish as inspiration for soft-bodied robots for a variety of applications. She is also passionate about engaging natural history collections in her works. Dr. Arnette holds a Ph.D. in environmental life sciences from Arizona State University.
Dr. Ana Belén Avilez García
avilezgarcia@chapman.eduDr. Avilez García is a mathematician whose research focuses on point-free topology. This area of mathematics is regarded as an algebraic (more specifically, lattice theoretical) counterpart of classical topology. Locales and frames, the objects of study of point-free topology, are a generalized version of topological spaces where one focuses on their lattices of open sets, leaving aside the points. Her interests also include category theory, algebra, general topology and logics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Coimbra, Portugal. She recently completed a one-year postdoc at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Dr. E. Daniel Cárdenas-Vásquez
cardenasvasquez@chapman.eduDr. Cárdenas-Vásquez was born in Moyobamba, Perú. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo (UNPRG), in Lambayeque, Perú, and a Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering from North Carolina State University, where he conducted research about new functional materials using colloids and hydrogels for biomedical applications as well as exploring novel nucleation prediction methods using computational tools for drug discovery and other pharmaceuticals applications. Additionally, he has a keen interest in the ethics of science, specifically at the interface of organized religious entities and genetically modified foods (GMOs). On the side, he drinks lots of (specialty) coffee while trying to model in-silico its pour over extraction mechanism.
Dr. Sayani Ghosh
saghosh@chapman.eduDr. Ghosh is an interdisciplinary researcher whose work bridges the fields of mathematics and theoretical physics. She earned her Ph.D. from Clemson University, where her doctoral research focused on developing graph-theory-based tools and applying them to nuclear astrophysical scenarios. Dr. Ghosh is particularly interested in exploring the relationship between the classical world and the quantum regime, addressing some of the intriguing open questions in modern physics. Beyond her research, Dr. Ghosh is dedicated to education. She actively seeks and implements innovative teaching methods to enhance student engagement and deepen their understanding.
Dr. Ariane Jong-Levinger
jonglevinger@chapman.eduDr. Jong-Levinger is an environmental engineer with a background in environmental science (she earned her B.S. in environmental science and policy from Chapman University in 2016). Ari studies how the interactions between wildfire, storms, and flood management infrastructure influence post-fire floods and debris flows. The goal of her work is to co-produce useful knowledge about the impact of climate change on flood risk and water resources with stakeholders to support efforts to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change in Southern California. She holds a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of California, Irvine.
Dr. Rajeev Joshi
rajoshi@chapman.eduDr. Joshi obtained his Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from the University of South Florida, Tampa, in 2023. During his doctoral studies, he developed optimization techniques for machine learning inference and near-memory image processing in hardware for highly constrained IoT edge nodes. He is currently pursuing a new research direction in embedded systems, focusing on the design and development of a compact and affordable refreshable Braille device for early education for individuals with blindness and visual impairments. His research interests lie at the intersection of VLSI design, computer architecture, machine learning, in-memory computing, and image processing, with the goal of developing efficient and intelligent edge AI systems for smart embedded systems and IoT applications.
Dr. Lorenzo Leiva Araya
lleiva@chapman.eduDr. Leiva Araya earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in biochemistry and his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. During his Ph.D. project, Lorenzo became interested in understanding the adaptation of bacterial translation machinery during stress conditions. He joined Chapman University in 2021 to work as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Michael Ibba on the antibiotic stress response. Currently, his research focuses on understanding the role of some molecules synthesized by side reactions of the translation machinery, which play a role in bacterial communication and gene regulation. The goal is to understand how bacteria use these molecules to communicate with each other and coordinate the bacterial response that allows them to tolerate antibiotic treatments.
Dr. Cassandra Maya
cmaya@chapman.eduDr. Maya is a food and nutrition scientist specializing in the nutrition, quality, and consumer acceptance of alternative proteins, with a particular interest in edible insects. Her doctoral research focused on replacing meat protein with insect- and plant-based foods through a randomized control trial in family settings. The goal of her research is to identify the factors that affect the successful integration of alternative proteins into a healthy and sustainable human diet. Dr. Maya holds a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of Copenhagen.
Dr. Nicole Schwartz
nicschwartz@chapman.eduDr. Schwartz is an evolutionary physiologist who uses an interdisciplinary approach to study the evolution of complex behavior (e.g., exercise). Her research examines a broad range of topics, including biomechanics, energetics, and early-life effects. More recently, she has started to investigate other behaviors (e.g., parental care), and the role that hormones and the endocrine system may play in mediating integrated responses to behavioral selection. The goal of her work is to examine behavior as a collection of co-evolving sub-organismal traits, and the influence that genetic background, environmental factors, and their interaction, may have on organismal behavior. She holds a Ph.D. in evolution, ecology, and organismal biology from the University of California, Riverside.
Dr. Gabriela Shirkey
shirkey@chapman.eduDr. Shirkey is geographer and landscape ecologist interested in the relationship between land use, land cover, and ecosystem processes. Her work evaluates human-nature relationships and their variation across spatiotemporal scales, applying socioecological system approach. In her research, she asks how land management and land use vary spatially and whether we can capture its intensity. Dr. Shirkey completed her undergraduate degree at Michigan Technological University and her graduate degree from Michigan State University. Her goal is to evaluate climate mitigation strategies and inform stakeholders, policymakers, and her community on the complexity between society and the biophysical environment.
Previous Fellows
Dr. Miranda Aiken
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Urban Soils and Biogeochemistry, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
GCI Fellow: 2022-2024
Dr. Carter Berry
Current Position: Environmental Impact Manager, International Foundation for Valuing Impacts
GCI Fellow 2017-2020
Dr. Hector Camarillo Abad
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Occidental College
GCI Fellow 2022 - 2024
Dr. Robert de Bruijn
Current Position: Lecturer of Biology, Tufts University
GCI Fellow 2018-2020
Dr. Kamal Diki
Current Position: FWO Research Fellow, Ghent University
GCI Fellow 2022 - 2024
Dr. Cristhiano Duarte Silva
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Leeds University
GCI Fellow 2018-2020
Dr. Desiree Forsythe
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, Santa Clara University
GCI Fellow 2022 - 2024
Dr. Daniel Gardner
Current Position: Lecturer of Computing and Game Design, Robert Gordon University
GCI Fellow 2021 - 2024
Dr. José Raúl González Alonso
Current Position: Data Science Manager at Neustar, Inc.
GCI Fellow 2017-2019
Dr. Brenna Gormally
Current Position: Assistant Teaching Professor and Associate Director of Project Based Learning, Seventh College, University of California, San Diego
GCI Fellow 2020 - 2021
Dr. Aaron Harrison
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Austin College
GCI Fellow 2018-2021
Dr. Brian Hoover
Current Position: Principle Investigator, Farallon Institute
GCI Fellow 2019-2022
Dr. Lucas Krusinski
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Animal Science and Biotechnology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
GCI Fellow 2023 - 2024
Dr. Charlene McCord
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Marine Biology, California State University, Dominguez Hills
GCI Fellow 2017-2019
Dr. Crystal Ng
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, Marine Biology Program Lead, Los Angeles Pierce College
GCI Fellow 2019-2020
Dr. Nana Pepra - Ameyaw
Current Position: Instructional Assistant Professor of Food Science, Chapman University
GCI Fellow: 2021 - 2024
Dr. Kenjiro Quides
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis
GCI Fellow 2019-2022
Dr. Indrajit Sen
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Physics, Georgia Gwinnett College
GCI Fellow 2021 - 2024
Dr. Anne Sonnenschein
Current Position: Senior Bioinformatics Scientist, Tempus Labs
GCI Fellow 2017-2019
Dr. Mario Stipcic
Current Position: Preceptor of Mathematics, Harvard University
GCI Fellow 2021-2023
Dr. Zachary Thammavongsy
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Santiago Canyon College
GCI Fellow 2019-2022
Dr. Shana Welles
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Teaching, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside
GCI Fellow 2017-2020
Dr. Bingjie Zhang
Current Position: Chemist, Behr Paint Company
GCI Fellow 2019-2022