When Forge Therapeutics COO and VP of Discovery David Puerta first set foot on the CSUDH campus, he wasn’t sure what kind of career he wanted to pursue. As a first-generation college student, his (and his parents’) initial goal had been to just get to college. After being recruited to play soccer for the Toros, he started classes with only a vague notion that he wanted to be involved in science. “I was always interested in science,” Puerta said, “but I didn’t know where you could go with that in terms of a career, outside of being a physician or dentist..” Due to a close relationship with his chemistry professor, Leonardo Martinez, Puerta began to focus his studies on biotechnology. ... Read More
Biochemistry
Cal State Dominguez Hills Starts $82M Innovation Center
Officials at California State University-Dominguez Hills are building an $82 million science center now under construction as a boon to students at the campus in Carson as well as L.A.’s growing tech sector. The three-story, 91,000-square foot instructional and research building, which broke ground late last month, will include more than 30 classrooms and labs, all geared toward training students for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is slated to open at the end of the fall 2019 semester. “With Silicon Beach, the region’s burgeoning focus on entrepreneurial and business mentorship, and our growth as a top biotechnology hub, Los Angeles is experiencing ... Read More
CSUDH and Toyota Unveil State-of-the-Art Mobile Fab Labs
Nearly 100 middle and high school students joined members of the California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) campus community for a festive gathering on Sept. 27 to unveil the university’s new mobile fabrication laboratory (mobile fab lab), the first in a fleet of four that are now part of the Fab Foundation network of nearly 900 such labs around the globe. The fabs labs are designed to expand K-12 students’ skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and provide teachers and CSUDH credential students with additional tools and teaching techniques to engage and excite students into STEM. The first labs will begin touring schools in the Los Angeles ... Read More
University Breaks Ground on Cutting-Edge Science and Innovation Building
Dirt was shoveled, a massive banner was unveiled, and confetti shot into the air around a gathering of university partners, civic leaders, and a diverse mix of the campus community. It was official. On Sept. 28, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) broke ground in dramatic style on its long-anticipated $82 million Science and Innovation building. Strikingly illustrated by a 20- by 70-foot banner hanging on the east side of the University Library to announce it, the 91,000-square-foot building is tentatively scheduled to begin construction in late fall 2017. The festivities took place where the three-story, ultra-modern instructional and research facility will be built, ... Read More
Cal State Dominguez Hills Applauds Science, Facility and College Prep Grants
Biology students at Cal State Dominguez Hills will soon be able to do their own DNA sequencing, seeing the molecular structures of plants, bacteria and other living things more closely than ever before. The Carson university’s Department of Biology has won a National Science Foundation grant for $216,310 to purchase an Illumina MiSeq DNA sequencer. “We can do tons more experiments,” said Karin Kram, an assistant professor of biology who led a team that sought the grant. “One of the things I’d really like to do is have students in my microbiology classes identify microbes found on our phones. Now, we identify them to a genus level with biochemical tests. But, with this, we can identify ... Read More
