STRETCH

Q. Who qualifies to apply to become a STRETCH Scholar?
A. Students who are part of UC LEADS may apply to become a STRETCH Scholar. 

Q. Is there a stipend for this program?
A.  Each STRETCH Scholar will receive a stipend from their home UC LEADS office at the beginning of the academic year for their two-year research experience.

Q. When will participants be selected?
A. Participants will be selected after your home campus UC LEADS application review process.

Q. Who are the UC STRETCH contacts at each campus?
A. There are currently nine faculty mentors participating in the program:
Grace O'Connell
Campus: UC Berkeley
Research: soft tissue mechanobiology, specifically studying how the mechanical behavior of fiber reinforced tissues from the musculoskeletal system is changed with age and disease.
Research Focus: Tissue Engineering

Clare Yellowley-Genetos
Campus: UC Davis
Research: regulatory role of the bone microenvironment on both cell fate and function; in particular the influence of the mechanical environment and environmental oxygen availability on skeletal cells.
Research Focus: Molecular & Cell

Gabriela Loots
Campus: UC Davis/LLNL
Research: Animal models and cell-based tissue mimetric approaches to answer key questions in bone, cartilage, and caner. Developing treatments for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis traumatic bone injury, and preventing bone metastasis.
Research Focus: Molecular & Cell, Genomics

Olaronke Olabisi
Campus: UC Irvine
Research: biosynthetic materials, which combine synthetic and biological materials and can control cell and tissue function. Develop wound dressings that accelerate the healing of chronic diabetic wounds faster than normoglycemic wounds and combination seashell-synthetic biomaterials capable of directing bone formation in microscopic patterns.
Research Focus: Tissue Engineering

Karen Lyons
Campus: UC Los Angeles
Research: investigate the functions of secreted factors in skeletal development and postnatal maintenance. Elucidation of the functions and mechanisms of BMP and TGF-beta signaling pathways in cartilage and bone.
Research Focus: Molecular & Cell, Developmental

Jennifer Manilay
Campus: UC Merced
Research: influence of communication between bone and hematopoietic stem cells on immune cell fate decisions. Studies questions at the crossroads of developmental biology, stem cell bilogy and immunology.
Research Focus: Developmental Immunology

Nicole I. zur Neiden
Campus: UC Riverside
Research: utilizes pluripotent stem cell models as well as mouse and zebrafish models to study developmental bone formation (osteogenesis). Developed murine embryonic stem cell protocols for chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation into matrix-secreting chondrocytes and mineralized osteoblasts respectively. Study normal and abnormal osteogenesis, including the molecular mechanisms that drive osteogenic fate or interfere with it.
Research Focus: Molecular & Cell

Kimberly Cooper
Campus: UC San Diego
Research: Evolution of developmental mechanisms that diversified the vertebrate limb musculoskeletal system.  Genetic mechanisms that establish and vary skeletal proportion by controlling growth plate cartilage elongation rate and duration.
Research Focus: Developmental

Galateia Kazakia
Campus: UC San Francisco
Research: Using imaging tools to evaluate the impact of aging and disease on musculoskeletal health, including bone strength, muscle quality, and body composition.
Research Focus: Musculoskeletal Imaging

In May 2026, we welcomed the third cohort of the UC STRETCH program, featuring three exceptional scholars from UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Cruz. 

The STRETCH program is designed to foster collaboration among scientists by providing students with a comprehensive two-year research experience that includes two academic years and one summer of research at their home campus, followed by a second summer of research at another UC campus. All three scholars bring unique expertise and a strong commitment to advancing their respective fields, embodying the spirit of the STRETCH program through their dedication to collaborative and transformative research.

David Martinez
Biomedical Engineering
UC Irvine

Aadya Penchala
Bioengineering
UC Riverside

Kyra Zion Velasco
Molecular and Cellular Developmental Biology
UC Santa Cruz

During July 2024, we had the pleasure of welcoming the second cohort of the UC STRETCH program, featuring two exceptional scholars from UC Riverside. The STRETCH program is designed to foster collaboration among scientists by providing students with a comprehensive two-year research experience that includes two academic years and one summer of research at their home campus, followed by a second summer of research at another UC campus. Both scholars bring unique expertise and a strong commitment to advancing their respective fields, embodying the spirit of the STRETCH program through their dedication to collaborative and transformative research.

During June 2023, the inaugural cohort of STRETCH mentors and scholars met with CCMBM staff and UC LEADS representatives to officially launch their research projects. Scholars and mentors represent a network of MSK research spanning 6 of the UC campuses: Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Francisco.

The STRETCH program stimulates collaboration among scientists by supporting students throughout a two-year research experience that incorporates two academic years and one summer of research at the home campus, and a second summer of research at another UC.​​​​​​

TEAM 1: Fibroadipogenic Progenitors as Mediators of Muscle Fibrosis

STRETCH Scholar
Sonali Feeley
UC Los Angeles

Faculty Mentor
Xuhui Liu, MD
UC San Francisco

Faculty Mentor
Thomas Rando, MD, PhD
UC Los Angeles

TEAM 2: Assessing Spinal Movement Quality in Lower Back Pain

STRETCH Scholar
Miriam Contreras Castillo
UC Riverside

Faculty Mentor
Jeannie Bailey, PhD
UC San Francisco

 

Faculty Mentor
Grace O'Connell, PhD
UC Berkeley

Faculty Mentor
Elena Kokkoni, PhD
UC Riverside

 

TEAM 3: Studies in "Osteoimmunology"

STRETCH Scholar
Rida Mirza
UC Merced

Faculty Mentor
Gabriela Loots, PhD
UC Davis

Faculty Mentor
Jennifer Manilay, PhD
UC Merced