Jonna Ocampo, former LCC INBRE student researcher admitted to Ross University School of Medicne

Jonna Ocampo, former INBRE student researcher at Leeward Community College in 2014-2015, will be pursuing her M.D. at the Ross University School of Medicine beginning this summer. Her experience working on the synthesis and biological evaluation of chalconoid antimicrobials with Dr. Bradley Ashburn and Dr. Helmut Kae inspired her to earn a Master’s degree in Medical Sciences with a concentration in Molecular Medicine at the University of South Florida.

Jonna has been awarded numerous honors such as the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium Fellowship for her work on Transposon Expression Changes Induced by Simulated Microgravity and has presented at national and international conferences including the United Nations Expert Meeting on Human Space Technology in Vienna, Austria and 4th Mexican Congress of Medicine and Space Health, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Her former INBRE supervisor Bradley Ashburn says, “I have had the great pleasure to keep in contact with Jonna over the years and witness her growth into a high-achieving biomedical researcher. She works relentlessly to further the boundaries of science (literally speaking, she has performed experiments in microgravity space flights). Jonna embodies the spirit and success of the Hawaii INBRE program and will continue to make an impact as she pursues her dream to be a physician.”