Dr. Karin Crowhurst
Principal investigator
About me: I grew up in western Canada (Calgary and Vancouver) but travelled east to pursue my university degrees. During undergrad (at Queen’s University) I met my future husband and entertained myself by making contact explosives. I continued my education at the University of Toronto where I completed my PhD in Biochemistry and Biomolecular Structure in the Forman-Kay lab before moving to Los Angeles in 2003 to join the Mayo lab at Caltech for my postdoc. I joined CSUN as an Assistant Professor in 2007. Since then my students and I have worked hard to move our research forward, and create a fun and inclusive lab environment.
Other interests: I have been a radio DJ in my past and in rare periods of spare time these days I like to make stuff and go exploring (locally and globally). I also have a garden and grow amazing tomatoes and berries and veggies in the summer.

Beth Allen 
Graduate student, Biochemistry
Joined: fall 2023
About me: Coming soon
Other interests: TBA.

Tania Balian 
Postbac student, Cell and Molecular Biology
Joined: spring 2023 
About me: coming soon
Other interests: TBA.

Ruben Bautista 
Graduate student, Biochemistry
Joined as undergrad: summer 2022
Joined as grad student: fall 2024
About me: Coming soon
Other interests: TBA.

Angelique Bayardo 
Undergraduate student, Microbiology
Joined: summer 2023 
About me: coming soon
Other interests: TBA.

Toryan Cox-Georgian
Graduate student, Biochemistry
Joined as undergrad: summer 2022 
Joined as grad student: summer 2024 
About me: coming soon
Other interests: TBA.

Yue (Scarlett) Shi 
Graduate student, Biochemistry
Joined: spring 2021 
About me: I first came to the States to pursue a bachelor’s degree, and now it’s the time for me to dive deeper. I grew up in China, and thanks to my parents, I’ve had great interest in science since I was a little kid. “Why am I here? How was I born?” these questions have echoed in my head over years. My dad is a chemical engineering professor, and my mom is a doctor. I, as a biochemist, am a combination of them! Also, I feel so honored to join this superb lab with fantastic people.
Other interests: I like to build plastic models (and LEGOs too) and travel. I’ve been to so many places around the world. I also like to draw, but each drawing takes me months to finish.

Walter Torres 
Graduate student, Biochemistry
Joined: fall 2024 
About me: Coming soon
Other interests: TBA