Meet the 2022 CAMPOS Faculty Scholars

The Office of Academic Diversity and the  Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS) welcomes six new faculty to it's 2022 cohort of Faculty Scholars! They will be officially recognized during the CAMPOS Induction Ceremony on November 4, 2022 at the Manetti Shrem Museum.

Led by Faculty Director, Mariel Vazquez (Professor of Mathematics and of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics), CAMPOS emerged out of a 2012 National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant to expand the presence of women and historically-marginalized faculty in STEMM at UC Davis. With this year’s newest members there are a total of 39 CAMPOS Faculty Scholars with appointments across 31 departments in 7 colleges and schools. 

“I am thrilled to welcome our 2022-2023 CAMPOS faculty scholars to UC Davis. This newest cohort joins a brilliant group of faculty whose scientific research, since joining UC Davis, has been widely recognized and garnered over $36.6 Million in grant funding from 2014-2021. The 2022 CAMPOS faculty scholars have a bright future at UC Davis and we can’t wait to see what they will accomplish!”

The recently published book, Uprooting Bias in the Academy  explains CAMPOS at UC Davis: 

CAMPOS faculty scholars are exceptional STEMM scientists who are “selected for their transformative thinking, unique perspectives, interdisciplinary approaches, and leadership potential to impact their discipline in profound and enduring ways. Their discoveries, innovations, and technological breakthroughs will contribute to the public good, locally, nationally, and globally. They are role models for future scientists and scholars who share their vision of diversity and inclusion as a key component of academic excellence.”  

The quality of this year’s newest faculty lives up to those very high standards. Selection Committee member Denneal Jamison-McClung, Director of the UC Davis Biotech Program, notes "Each year, I am impressed with the accomplishments of CAMPOS applicants - it speaks to the strong recruitment efforts of departments and the support of campus leadership that we are able to attract highly talented faculty to UC Davis, year after year. These new CAMPOS faculty are top-notch scientists and engineers who also have strong track records of supporting STEM diversity, equity and inclusion." 

We welcome six 2022 CAMPOS Faculty Scholars:

Luis Diaz-Garcia

Assistant Professor, Viticulture and Enology

Luis Diaz-Garcia grew up in Aguascalientes, Mexico, a state recognized as one of the most important wine-growing regions in the country. In 2018, Diaz-Garcia obtained his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working in the laboratory of Juan Zalapa. During his Ph.D., Diaz-Garcia integrated a variety of phenomics and genomics tools for studying cranberry fruit quality traits and their underlying genetic mechanisms. Then, in 2018, Diaz-Garcia joined INIFAP Mexico as a lead scientist, where he worked in several crops, including maize, chili pepper, and guava.  At UCD, the Diaz-Garcia lab will apply novel phenomics and genotyping approaches for accelerating the breeding of wine grapes and rootstocks. Genetic solutions for growing high-quality grapes under current and future climate challenges are likely hidden in the germplasm collections made by previous grape breeders at UC Davis.

Alyssa Griffin

Assistant Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences

Alyssa Griffin is a marine biogeochemist researching carbon cycling in coastal ecosystems and working towards a more just, equitable and inclusive earth science community. She spent the last two years as a UC Davis Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow splitting her time between Davis and the Bodega Marine Lab. Griffin’s research bridges geochemistry, biomineralization, and climate change, working on questions of biomineralization and the marine carbon cycle, mineral precipitation/dissolution dynamics under conditions of changing ocean chemistry, carbon storage in ocean systems (blue carbon) and climate mitigation strategies, the interactions of sediment biogeochemistry and carbonate mineralogy, and human relationships with earth systems. Her work also includes developing climate solutions that promote sustainability and environmental justice. Griffin has an outstanding record of working to attract and support minoritized scientists and has received multiple awards for this work including a UC San Diego-wide Inclusive Excellence award. She co-developed an initiative to increase diversity in the scientific diving program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Alan Lombard

Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine and Urologic Surgery

Alan Lombard focuses on identifying and targeting the mechanisms of prostate cancer progression, with the goal of enhancing therapeutic efficacy and designing novel strategies to improve patient outcomes. Alan received his doctorate from UC Davis studying in the lab of Maria Mudryj where he studied mechanisms of progression of both prostate and bladder tumors. Lombard remained at UC Davis after graduation and went on to specialize in prostate cancer as a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Allen Gao and now he likes to say that he’s becoming an “Aggie lifer.” Lombard has won several awards, including a Department of Defense postdoctoral training fellowship and most recently, a K01 career development award from the NCI. As a CAMPOS faculty scholar, Lombard is excited to pay it forward working not only to better understand cancer and its treatment, but also to train the next generation of diverse scientists. The Lombard Lab employs a multi-pronged strategy including 1) development and utilization of in vitro and in vivo models, 2) molecular/cellular biological, biochemical, and omics approaches, and 3) bioinformatics to understand the underlying mechanisms of tumor biology and response and resistance to therapy. The lab’s goal is to incorporate novel findings into the design of efficacious treatments.

María Maldonado

Assistant Professor, Plant Biology

María Maldonado's research focuses on understanding the respiratory chains of photosynthetic organisms. She undertook postdoctoral research at MCB UC Davis with Dr James Letts, where she studied respiratory complexes and supercomplexes of mung bean and Tetrahymena using biochemical and cryoEM approaches. During her PhD, she studied the regulation of chromosomal segregation in mammalian cells with Dr Tarun Kapoor at the Rockefeller University. She holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in biochemistry and biotech commercialization from the University of Cambridge. Maldonado also worked in the consulting and financial industries for several years between her PhD and postdoc. 

Adeola Oni-Orisan

Assistant Professor, Family and Community Medicine

Adeola Oni-Orisan is a medical anthropologist and family physician whose research engages critical race theory, Black feminist studies, and science and technology studies to examines how ideas about Blackness, gender, and health are reinforced, deployed and resisted in struggles for health and well-being. She has conducted research on issues related to reproductive health in Nigeria, Zambia, and the United States. Her book project, "To Be Delivered: Pregnant and Born Again in Nigeria" is an ethnographic and historical exploration of the lived experiences of pregnant Nigerians as they navigate intersecting yet competing systems of care proposed by state, church, and international development organizations in search of successful deliveries. 

Kenjiro W. Quides

Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Kenji Quides is a microbial evolutionary ecologist with broad interests in microbial symbioses. As an Assistant Professor of Teaching, he consistently draws from his research background studying the legume-rhizobium symbiosis. From conceptually thinking about cooperation, to the various ways microbes impact our daily lives, his research background remains influential in his approach to education. At UC Davis, Quides will continue his passion for teaching and mentorship that accelerated as a teaching and research postdoctoral fellow in the Grand Challenges Initiative at Chapman University (2019-2022). There he taught project-based learning courses, which gave him an appreciation for innovative curriculum development that positively impacts students from diverse backgrounds.

Nominations for the 2023-2024 cohort of CAMPOS Faculty Scholars are currently being accepted. Please find eligibility criteria on the CAMPOS website and submit nominations by May 31, 2023.

The CAMPOS Faculty Affiliates Program provides an opportunity for UC Davis faculty to engage with CAMPOS Faculty Scholars in efforts to build diversity within the academic STEM disciplines and to enhance our campus’s academic engagement with underserved communities. If you are interested in becoming a CAMPOS Affiliate please contact us.

If you have questions or would like additional information about the CAMPOS program, please contact Sophie Barbu, Assistant Director of CAMPOS, at sjbarbu@ucdavis.edu.