Established in 2007 to complement the Gerald and Sally DeNardo Lectureship, this prize is given by the Dean to recognize outstanding science research accomplishment by a graduating senior who reflects the distinctive characteristics of a Jesuit education and is pursuing a career in the health sciences.

Lani Krossa

Computer Science major
Lang Chen, Psychology, Faculty Mentor

Lani will graduate Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. Lani has worked in Professor Lang Chen’s lab of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience since 2020. In that time, she was the co-first author of a manuscript for which she conducted a meta-analysis to determine the neurobiological atypicality in children with math learning disabilities which was published in the prestigious journal, Human Brain Mapping in February. She was the first author of another paper in which she helped to develop a computational model of the neurobiology of this neurodevelopmental disorder using Python Tensorflow neural network code. This full-length paper has been accepted to be presented at the international conference of the Cognitive Science Society to be held in Sydney, Australia this summer. Her last project is another meta-analysis that investigates symbolic and nonsymbolic processing in people with math learning disabilities. She is finalizing that paper to be submitted for publication in May 2023.

According to Dr. Chen, "Lani is very interested in pursuing industrial work in the field of healthcare with a combination of computational and neuroscientific approaches that she mastered in the lab. As a woman majoring in computer science (she started as a neuroscience major), Lani represents the new generation of talented females in STEM and sets up wonderful role models for the future generation. Her work ethics and working relationship with other students are just extraordinary, and her accomplishments are evident in the amount of work she completed and multiple peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations."

Following graduation, Lani plans on working at a software company in the Bay Area to gain programming and management experience. She is currently looking at companies with healthcare applications to maximize her positive impact. After a few years of industry experience, she plans to return to school to get her Master's in machine learning, specializing in neural networks.

Lani shared that she was drawn to SCU because of the Jesuit education emphasis on becoming men and women for others. She appreciated the volunteer work she completed at various non-profits and the promotion of education on humanitarian issues through her involvement in SCU Belles, a women’s service organization. She noted that “Regularly interacting with underprivileged communities gives me a chance to break out of the SCU bubble, reminding me why I am studying in the first place.” This motivation to help others inspired Lani to pursue a career in the health sciences. In her time in Dr. Chen’s lab, she has focused on math learning difficulties as we heard above, but she has also examined autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders that impact children. In addition, she works as a childcare assistant at Santa Clara’s day care center, Kids on Campus, and she finds that interacting with these children drives her passion for neuroscience research to help understand and improve the lives of children with developmental disabilities.

Erica Svendahl

Chemistry and Environmental Science double major
Korin Wheeler, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Faculty Mentor

Erica is a graduating senior with double majors in Chemistry and Environmental Science. As she describes it, “Coming into undergrad at Santa Clara, I didn’t know what research was. No one in my family is in science or in academia. It was not until I entered my first general chemistry class that I was exposed to the world of research. In Dr. Wheeler’s general chemistry class, her excitement about research made me excited and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

During her nearly three years of undergraduate research in the Wheeler Lab, Erica has focused on the application of molecular-level tools to assess links between human health and the environment. She has pioneered new wet-lab methods to differentiate proteins and other biomolecules in her studies, while also developing new workflows for proteomic analyses using the R coding language. Erica played a central role in a collaborative, high-impact project to assess nanomaterial impact on planet food sources, resulting in co-authorship on a paper to be submitted to Nature Nanotechnology. In addition, she is currently writing a manuscript for an independent, project that assessed the role of changing conditions on the biochemical interactions of nanomaterials. This study has implications for environmental tracking of nano-contaminants and for targeting nano-drugs to cancer cells. She will be the first author of this submission to Environmental Science & Technology!

During her undergraduate research, Erica has been both a Clare Boothe Luce and Beckman Scholar. She has already presented her work at a variety of national and international conferences. Recently, at the International Conference on Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials, she was awarded a presentation award in recognition of the strength of her work and the breadth of her knowledge in the field. This was particularly notable since she was the only undergraduate presenter at the meeting. Along with the award, she even received numerous offers for jobs and Ph.D. programs!

Dr. Wheeler noted that Erica “…has demonstrated her independence, scientific maturity, and goal-driven approach that rivals mid-career graduate students. Erica steered her work more than almost any undergraduate in my time at SCU. With her creativity and independence, I have no doubt that she will be a leader in her field.” After graduation, Erica plans to gain further laboratory experience while she applies to graduate school programs to study environmental pollutants in relation to human health.