PBS graduate student C. Leo Jimenez Chavez, who has worked in PBS Professor Dr. Karen Szumlinski’s  Behavioral & Neural Genetics Laboratory since 2017, is one of only four graduates on campus to be awarded the highly-competitive Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring award. The award recognizes a distinguished track record of successfully mentoring and guiding undergraduate research. Leo’s mentorship includes the training of 24 undergraduate students, resulting in at least four peer-reviewed scientific publications. He has also actively participated in the K-6 Brainiacs outreach program, UCSB’s Future Me program aimed at high-school students, and is currently a Grad Mentor for UCSB’s Access Grads. Leo’s Ph.D. dissertation compares sex differences in the effects of a history of binge-drinking during adolescence versus adulthood on emotional cognitive processing. He defended his dissertation in June, 2024.

Congratulations, Leo!