The EpiCenterLA
Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide practical information in new and innovative ways for those interested in disaster preparedness, response and recovery. Covered topics include cyberthreats, epidemics, terrorism, hospital-acquired infections such as C.difficile, disaster communication, sister cities working together with Los Angeles, urban planning for disasters, and a calendar of related events. We host a website, EpiCenterLA.org, that is continually updated and contains background as well as new information on disasters and related topics. It includes text, video and infographics. We provide original content essays on the website as issues come up. Our target audience goes from trained first responders to the general population.
Meet The Team
Welcome to the team!
Dr. Peter Katona
Team Lead
Dr. Peter Katona is Clinical Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Adjunct Professor of Public Health in epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He has worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an EIS Officer studying viral diseases and doing epidemic investigation; and at Apria/Corum/CVS Healthcare as their Corporate Medical Director. He is an internationally recognized authority on bioterrorism and has lectured throughout the world on this topic.
Henry
Liang
STUDENT LEAD
Henry Liang is a UCLA graduate. He majored in applied math and statistics major, doing research in the areas of deep learning and health sciences. He loves going to the gym and doing motorsports.
Nazrin Rustamzade
STUDENT LEAD
Nazrin is a third-year Human Biology and Society and Political Science double major. She hopes to earn an MPH degree and pursue a career in healthcare management and policymaking. Outside of school, Nazrin is passionate about cooking, baking, and learning new languages.
Ellis
Kim
Social Media
Ellis Kim is a sophomore at UCLA majoring in Education and Social Transformation and on the Pre-med Track. She aspires to be a child psychiatrist and to help make new policies in the nation’s Education system. Ellis loves making youtube videos and filming look-books.
Jessica
Dam
author
Jessica is a second year undergraduate at UCLA majoring in Psychobiology. She hopes to attend medical school and aspires to be a physician in the future. Outside of academics, Jessica loves to dance, play volleyball and try out new restaurants.
Lauren
Huang
author
Lauren is a third-year Human Biology and Society major and Applied Developmental Psychology minor. She is passionate about bioethical applications to social science and plans to pursue a career as a future healthcare physician. During her free time, Lauren is a foodie enthusiast who loves hiking near the beach, fostering kittens, and creating mini DIY projects.
Evelyn
Wan
author
Evelyn is a third-year undergrad at UCLA majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Entrepreneurship. She is incredibly passionate about the societal impacts of climate change, and firmly believes that effective marketing is the solution to achieving the cultural groundswell and political momentum to create change. In the future, she hopes to eventually pursue a career in the field of sustainable marketing.
Jessica
Ly
author
Jessica is a UCLA graduate who majored in Biology. She plans on becoming a registered nurse in the future. Her research focuses on long-haul COVID and emergency preparedness in her local community. To unwind, she enjoys experimenting with recipes, playing video games, and exploring the world with her dog.
Kenneth
Thai
AUTHOR
Sophia Gonzales
author
Sophie is a third year biochemistry major specializing in computing. She hopes to become a researcher, although she is unsure about her desired field of study. In her free time, Sophie enjoys trying new coffee shops and playing video games with friends.
Harlene
Kaur
contributor
Kareem Kamal
Author
Kareem is a third-year undergraduate at UCLA majoring in Biology. He has a passion for healthcare and plans to become a medical physician in the future. Outside the classroom, Kareem loves soccer and basketball, listening to music, and traveling.
Eden Breslauer-Friedman
Author
Eden is a third year undergraduate student majoring in Human Biology & Society, who is passionate about public health and health education. She hopes to pursue a joint MPH/MSW degree in the future. In her free time, she loves to paint, read and go for runs.
David
Chen
Contributor
David is a third-year Biochemistry major from Arcadia, California. David is pursuing a career in medicine and is extremely interested in biotechnology and the promise it holds for bettering society! He is also extremely passionate about improving the efficacy of our healthcare system and practices! Unrelated to medicine, David is interested in investing and day-trading, but also loves working out, skiing, snowboarding, recreational shooting, and playing basketball.
Sarah
Fazio
Contributor
Sarah Fazio is a first-year undergraduate planning to major in statistics. In the future, she intends to pursue a career in data science or biotechnology. Outside of school, she likes to run, listen to Taylor Swift, and watch Warriors basketball.
Natan Hekmatjah
Active alumni
Natan graduated in 2019 as a Psychobiology major from UCLA. He hopes of attending medical school to become a future health-care physician. An interesting fact about Natan is that his name is spelled the same forwards and backwards!
Jessica Irvine
active alumni
Jessica Irvine graduated in 2020 from UCLA with a degree in Psychobiology and minor in Public Health. She aspires to become a physician. Jessica has a passion for travel. She went to Tanzania in 2018 and is eager to explore as many new destinations as she can
Daniel Panosyan
Author
Daniel is a first year undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Physiological Science. He is passionate about medicine and scientific research. After attaining his undergraduate degree, he plans to attend medical school and become a physician. Outside of school, he likes hiking, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family.
Doris Lee
Author
My name is Doris and I am an undergraduate student studying psychology at UCLA. Besides this lab, I am also part of UNICEF at UCLA and the Pre-Law Society. If I find myself having free time, I love crocheting (or at least attempting to) stuffed animals or playing games. Fun fact about me, I can solve a minesweepers board in two minutes! Feel free to reach out to me with any questions 😀
Ayan Nath
Author
Ayan is a first year undergraduate majoring in Computer Science and Linguistics. In the future, Ayan hopes to work with data and statistics in any field from government and public health to science and technology. For fun, Ayan loves to play basketball, make music, and build LEGOs.
Jonah San Gabriel
Author
Jonah San Gabriel is a second year Biochemistry major wanting to possibly minor in Global Health. He wants to pursue his dream of being a physician or surgeon in the future. As of now, Jonah works as an EMT and enjoys going to the gym, eating food, and shopping for clothes.
Grace Li
Author
Grace is a first-year undergraduate at UCLA majoring in Human, Biology, and Society and minoring in Global Health. She plans on pursuing an MPH and is passionate about investigating health disparities in our societal structure. In her free time, she loves to travel to new countries, paint, and listen to pop music.
Angela Hung
Author
Angela Hung is a first year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major passionate about bettering the health of others. She plans to attend medical school and become a physician, where she hopes to be able to delve into the intersectionality of healthcare. Apart from medicine, Angela enjoys swimming, trying new foods, thrifting, and listening to introspectively-lyrical artists like Gracie Abrams.
Alumni
Meredith Steinberg
Meredith graduated with a degree in Human Biology and Society as well as a minor Public Health. While she plans to get her Master’s in Public Health in the near future, Meredith is currently searching for a position that aligns with her passions for public health outreach and epidemiological research.
Kevin Zhang
Kevin graduated from UCLA with a degree in Biology. His joy is to organize free health screenings and a phone service for linguistically isolated immigrants in Los Angeles. He is an enthusiast for cutting edge science and after previously shadowing and interning, now works part-time in the pharmaceutical industry.
Samira Mosalla
Samira Mosalla graduated in March 2020. She is taking a gap year to study for the MCAT, so that she can apply to PA programs. Her goal is to become a Physician Assistant although she have not yet chosen a specialty. She interested in Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as Emergency. In her free time she likes to cook and go on hikes.