‘Best and brightest U.S. students’

Editor’s note: This year six UCI students won Fulbright Fellowships, the scholarship from the U.S. State Department dedicated to promoting international research. The fellowship gives winners the opportunity to study and/or teach abroad in a particular field. Students must go through a rigorous application process to be selected. Following are profiles of this year’s UCI Fulbrighters.

Christina Zdenek

Christina Zdenek always knew she wanted to help animals.

From the days when she would play Steve Irwin and pretend her couch cushions were crocodiles, to her family trips down horse trails to find frogs, lizards and snakes to her days studying ecology and evolutionary biology at UCI, Zdenek has had her goals in sight.

“Since seventh grade I knew I wanted to essentially prevent human-caused extinction of wildlife species, but I never knew how to go about achieving this goal of mine,” said Zdenek, 23.

But now, her goals are within reach.

“I knew I was going to get it because if every bit of me was poured into winning this fellowship and pursuing my life goal of wildlife conservation, and if I didn’t win, I don’t know who would,” she said.

Zdenek will attend Australian National University in Canberra to do research on “population viability analysis on the green python to model quasi-extinction of this rain forest species for a range of scenarios,” according to her Fulbright media profile.

Brian Baek

Brian Baek spent a lot of his time searching for answers. His younger brother, whom he chose not to name, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when they were young. His brother’s condition — a mild form of autism — affected Baek each day, and while at times the affliction was difficult, it motivated him to reach today’s heights.

“The award, to some degree, indicates to the world who the best and brightest U.S. students are,” said Baek, 23. “We, the students, reflect the reputation of the U.S. abroad, so there is a bit of pressure to make sure we represent the U.S. in a favorable way.”

The Los Angeles native and biological sciences and philosophy double major will research the genetics of autism in Finland because the country’s isolated populations allow for easier examination of gene pools affected by autism.

“I am excited to learn about something totally different in a part of the world that many Americans are unfamiliar with,” Baek said. “At the same time, I hope to impart some knowledge that I have.”

Neil Saigal

If flying away from home to study some of the world’s most pressing issues with the knowledge you have just been bestowed as one of the best young minds in the country isn’t intimidating enough, tack on that your place of study is the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which is more than 200 years old and appoints the laureates from the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine. Neil Saigal is doing just that — to study brain imaging no less.

He is working to develop a new Position Emission Tomography, or PET, radiotracer called the “18f-mefway.” The research hopes to look at the way the brain works, how serotonin affects human behavior and how to make PET a more clinically functional tool.

“The development of 18F-mefway is a step forward in the fight of major neurological and psychiatric disorders like depression, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease,” said Saigal, 23.

Saigal, who hails from Fresno, has already had some of his work published in the October cover of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine for his research into serotonin receptors and PET while at UCI working in the school’s Brain Imaging Center.

Yoo Nam

Not everyone has to be conducting research in science to make a difference — just ask Yoo Nam.

Born in Korea, raised in California from ages 1 to 11, and a Hawaii resident until he came back to California to study at UCI, Nam originally wanted to study medicine and be a doctor, but things change. After tutoring students in organic chemistry and working with high school students at a Sunday school, Nam found a new passion for teaching. For his fellowship, Nam will go to South Korea to teach English to high school students, two goals he has longed to achieve.

“As I was writing the essays I realized I do have a passion to teach, I do have a desire to go to Korea — these are things I want to do,” Nam, 21, said. “When I go to Korea, the people I work with will appreciate that I am a Fulbright Fellow and I worked hard to get it. They will respect me in a way, respect I might not have gotten if I [went to Korea] through another program.”

Nam plans to do more than just teach words. He will immerse himself in the Korean culture.

“I am going to try to be very positive, talk to as many people as possible and be very respectful to Korean cultures and traditions,” Nam said. “All while showing some of my American culture to foster understanding.”

Jarrod Larson and Denise Sandoval

Attempts to reach Jarrod Larson and Denise Sandoval were unsuccessful. Larson will investigate educational and social factors that affect HIV/AIDS awareness in Peru, while Sandoval will study business in Mexico.

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.