Maria Shaikh Degree: Public Health Sciences, UC Irvine (2009 Area of Emphasis: Epidemiology Practicum: TBD About Maria: As an undergraduate at the University of California Irvine, Maria became interested in Public Health Sciences. She worked under the guidance of Dr Zuzana Bic and Dr Leonard Sender and studied the incidence of Thyroid cancer and the occurrence of cancer in adolescent populations. She is currently working with the UC Irvine cancer center as well as the UC Davis Cancer research center to establish such a program. Maria hopes that these efforts will eventually lead to a better understanding of adolescent cancers as well as improve the quality of life of patients and survivors. Maria has also worked with the Santa Ana Unified school district to promote Heath care and nutrition.