Workshop Facilitators

DIANA AZURDIA, PH.D. –  University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Diana Azurdia serves as the Director for Recruitment and Inclusion for Graduate Programs in Bioscience (a consortium of seven PhD programs with over 800 students and faculty) at the University of California, Los Angeles. In this role, Dr. Azurdia leads the development and implementation of a strategic plan to enhance diversity in the biomedical graduate student population. She uses her platform as a National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Master Facilitator to promote inclusive mentoring practices at her home institution where she is the principal investigator of the UCLA Entering Mentoring Training Program which provides mentor and mentee training to scientists at all career stages.  Additionally, Dr. Azurdia works with the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Research Experiences (CIMER) to deliver research mentor training and facilitator training nationally.

Dr. Azurdia currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from UCLA, where she was an NIGMS Predoctoral Fellow (F31), and graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from CSU Los Angeles, where she was a MARC and LSAMP student. Dr. Azurdia is a first-generation Guatemalan-American and the first in her family to attend college. As the beneficiary of broadening participation programs, she believes that initiatives that promote access to STEM degrees are important for equal representation of all identities in science, the creation of innovations that serve all communities and income equity. Consequently, Dr. Azurdia has devoted her career to promoting initiatives that serve those causes.

Email: dazurdia@mednet.ucla.edu

BETH A. LAZAZZERA, PH.D. –  University of California, Los Angeles

Beth Lazazzera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. In this role, Dr. Lazazzera has trained two postdoctoral researchers, eight graduate students, and over 45 undergraduate researchers.  She has been actively involved in helping other researchers improve mentoring skills through the Entering Mentoring Curriculum and is a member of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN).  She has delivered the Entering Mentoring curriculum from 2014-2016 at the general meeting of American Society for Microbiology to an international audience.  Within the University of California, she has delivered a faculty day- long mentor training annually curriculum at UCSC and UCLA since 2016.

Dr. Lazazzera currently serves as Vice Chair of Undergraduate Studies for her department and is as the faculty director of the Amgen Scholars Program.  Dr. Lazazzera earned her B.S. in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her Ph.D. in Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her laboratory studies bacterial behavior, including bacterial biofilm formation, and cellular pathways that affect bacterial behavior.   

Email: bethl@microbio.ucla.edu

 Gregory Payne, Ph.D. –  University of California, Los Angeles      

 Greg Payne is a Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the School of Medicine and College Life Sciences Division.  As Faculty Director of   Graduate Programs in Bioscience, he oversees PhD programs with over 800 students and faculty.  He helped lead a reorganization of bioscience PhD programs into cross-departmental training areas more effectively centered on common research interest   and approaches.As Faculty Director of the new umbrella, Graduate Programs in Bioscience, he oversees PhD programs with over 800 students and faculty as well as a centralized support unit for admissions, student support, outreach and mentor training.   He is a National Research Mentoring Network Trained Facilitator and has served as a co-facilitator in the UCLA Entering Mentoring Training Program.  In his research lab, Dr. Payne has mentored over 30 Ph.D. and postdoctoral trainees as well as   undergraduate students.

 Dr. Payne received a B.S. in Biochemistry at University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at University of California, San Francisco.  After postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley he joined the faculty at UCLA.  His research program   has addressed mechanisms of intracellular protein transport, with a focus on endocytosis and transport between the Golgi complex and endosomes.

Email: gpayne@mednet.ucla.edu

Cost

Registration and materials are supported by the Graduate Programs in Bioscience at UCLA.

Participants are responsible for travel, lodging, and any meals not provided during the workshop.

Location

UCLA, Boyer Hall 159

Parking

Visitor Parking on campus is available on a first-come, first-served basis we recommend parking Lot 2 in pay by spaces on 1^st and 2^nd floor.

All day parking for campus and medical center areas cost $12/Day

Accessible Parking for Individuals with Disabilities cost $8/Day