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Project Protect Biographies for Fall 2016

	Leo Alonso Cabrera - Project Manager Leo Alonso Cabrera is a 3rd year Computer Science and Engineering major. Cabrera is the Project Manager for the Project Protect team. The reason why he chose it was because he wanted to use his background in team management and Computer Science to develop an application that will help improve the health conditions in the Central Valley. On his spare time, he wholeheartedly devotes his time to serving his organization Ingenieros Unidos – Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (IU-SHPE) as the Internal Director. One day he hopes to achieve his goal of obtaining a Masters and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
	Reinard Jeffrey T. Nambayan, Assistant Project Manager Reinard Jeffrey T. Nambayan is a third year Bioengineering student. Nambayan is the assistant project manager of the Engineering Service Learning team: Project Protect. Nambayan hopes that his passion for learning and educating others can move the team and the project forward toward their goal of educating the under-represented communities in the San Joaquin Valley and allow communication to occur between them and medical officials. Nambayan is very involved with the martial arts community, and can be found spending many of his evenings practicing karate, taekwondo, judo, Jiu jitsu, and taiji.
	Sahar Darian, Communications Officer Sahar Darian is a Third Year Human Biology and Public Health major. Darian is also the Communications Officer for the Engineering Service Learning Team, Project Protect. Darian has a strong passion for medicine and wants to pursue a career as an Emergency Physician. This is her second semester here at Project Protect as the Communications Officer. Initially, she joined the team due to prior research she conducted on antibiotic resistant bacteria that struck her interest. Darian hopes to be a great asset to the team through her prior experiences and interests for this research project. In her spare time, Darian loves spending time with the people closest to her.
	Reina Hammond - Intellectual Property Officer Reina Hammond is a second year Human Biology major. She is the intellectual property officer for the Project Protect Lab for the Engineering Service Learning team here at UC Merced. Hammond has a passion for helping others and hopes to provide valuable assistance to members of the community through this project. She hopes to also pursue a double major in Psychology, attend medical school, and enter into the field of neuroscience. When she isn’t at work or school, Hammond prefers to spend her time with her friends, driving down the coast, or watching reruns of her favorite TV shows.
	Rocky Lo - Procurement and Finance Officer Rocky Lo is a second year Computer Science and Engineering major. He is a member of the Engineering Service Learning team, Project Protect. Lo chose the team because of his interest in both developing applications as well as being able to interact with the diverse ethnic cultures within Merced. While he did not take part in UC Merced’s Mobile App Challenge in 2016, Lo explored the opportunities within the Challenge as well as gained insight on creating and developing apps. During his free time, Lo enjoys reading, playing tennis, and relaxing with friends.
	Mizrrain Lara Nava - App Team Leader Mizrrain Nava is a second year Mechanical Engineering student. Nava is the application development team leader of the Engineering Service Learning team Project Protect. He chose this project because he is interested in helping the central valley community and helping people of the lower social classes be more informed in the field of medicine. Nava has a passion for aerospace engineering and aeronautics, which he is looking forward to getting more involved in the future. On campus, Nava is part of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers in which he refines the skills needed to succeed in the engineering industry. He also enjoys playing rugby and any other intense-adrenaline activities that help him discover how much he is really capable of.
	Ruth Solis - Quality Assurance Team Leader Ruth Solis is a second year Biology Major, with an emphasis in Microbiology and Immunology. She is the team leader for the Engineering Service Learning team Project Protect. Solis chose Project Protect because of her interest in working with medical terminology application. She was also attracted to the opportunity to deliver a new method of developing patient-doctor relationships. Solis became CPR/First Aid/AED and Group Fitness Instructor Certified, as well as landed a clean varial kick flip on her skateboard all in the same month. As a student Solis appreciates the level of complexity the human body maintains every day to support her existence. Solis promotes her colleagues to maintain their individual wellbeing by providing them her services as a Group Fitness Instructor at her University Recreations and Athletics Center.