Rachel Behar, a PhD student in Dr. Prue Talbot's lab, was recently awarded an NIH pre-doctoral fellowship to support her research dealing with the effects of electronic cigarette fluids and aerosol on embryonic and lung cell health. Rachel Behar received her BS degree from UCI where she graduated with honors. Since entering the CMDB graduate program at UCR, she has published several papers dealing with the development of assays for accessing cytotoxicity using human embryonic stem cells and human pulmonary fibroblasts. She subsequently used these assays to identify flavoring chemicals in some electronic cigarette products that are highly cytotoxic to embryonic and adult lung cells. She has also presented her work at a number of local and national meetings.

Congratulations Rachel!