Matangi Kumar

WHERE I'M FROM

I'm from Artesia, California.

BEFORE VS

I finished my undergrad at UC Davis in 2021, majoring in Genetics and Genomics and minoring in Psychology. During undergrad I got the opportunity to research under Dr. Megan Dennis studying Human Specefic Segmental Duplications, and I got to intern under Dr. Evan Snyder and Dr. Sandra Leibel studying the vascularization of lung organoids.

WHY I’M HERE

I've always wanted to be a scientist, and being able to apply what I've learned through research in undergrad has been so exciting! I've always been fascinated about the molecular mechanisms of degenerative and age-related diseases, especially in the context of the eye, and the multi-disciplinary nature of UCB's vision science program allows me to pursue all of my research interests and will help me grow to be a well-rounded scientist.

MY RESEARCH

I’m currently researching in Dr. Karsten Gronert’s lab where I am studying how lipid mediators can be neuroprotective in neurodegenerative diseases such as glaucoma. Currently, I am interested in understanding the mechanism of muller glia and its reactivity in the pathology of glaucoma and whether lipid mediators have any effect on this effect.

MY GOALS

My goals are to take the various skills I'll learn from this program: from benchwork to scientific writing, to grow as a better and more refined scientist. I also hope to research better therapeutic tools to treat glaucoma.

MY HOBBIES

Crocheting, painting, crafting, reading, going to the beach and being in the sun, and music.