German Paniagua was born in El Salvador and immigrated to the United States 2 days after his 10th birthday. His family moved around for a while before settling in The San Fernando Valley. After graduating from Chatsworth High School, he enrolled in community college while working as a bartender. At Sacramento City College, he played an integral role in the Chemistry Department’s Undergraduate Research Program where his passion for research began. At UC Merced, German works at Dr. Woo’s lab and, under her guidance, designed a CRIPSR knock-in of a fluorescent tag on a histone protein to further investigate cell behavior during embryonic development. German also works at Dr. Zoghbi’s lab where he has learned to express, purify, and measure the activity of ABCB10, a human protein involved in exporting intermediates of heme synthesis out of the mitochondria. Outside of school, German enjoys getting his knuckles greasy working on his car, keeping a variety of houseplants with a preference for anthuriums, and caring for his two cats, Tuvok and Quark. He is graduating this Spring of 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis on Microbiology and Immunology. He plans to stay in Merced and continue his work at the labs while preparing his application for medical school. His aspiration is to become a doctor and work in the emergency room as he believes that’s where people need a doctor the most. German is thankful for all the wonderful friends, professors, and mentors that he has met here at UC Merced and intends to make them proud.
