(BS '08) chemistry
Award for highest grade point average with 3.95 (out of 4.0)

Christel Tee Sy has been admitted to the pharmacology/toxicology doctoral program at UC Davis and is one of 15 recipients of the Atmospheric Aerosols and Health Training Grant, which provides up to $50,000 for two years to help fund a research project on air quality and health. "It's targeted to study air pollution," Tee Sy says.

Open to any incoming or continuing graduate student, the grant supports research that involves some aspect of science, engineering or policy. The goal is to integrate the three fields and expose students to the complexity of air quality research. The idea is to apply science to policy and make a difference in people's lives. "Air pollution is not just about research, it's also about legislation." she says.

Tee Sy's family came to the Valley in 1994 from the Philippines and she graduated from high school in Orosi. Tee Sy's interest in science led her to examine air pollution in the region, which has some of the worst air in the United States.

"I found out the extent of the problem of air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley, including its societal, economical, environmental and health effects," she says.

The San Joaquin Valley Aerosol Health Effects Research Center (SAHERC) at UC Davis (http://saherc.ucdavis.edu/) is the only program in the state that looks at air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley. "That's why I picked Davis," Tee Sy says.

It's already known that diesel exhaust can lead to asthma; Tee Sy is taking the next step and studying its effect on the heart and lungs. She will study how diesel fuel exhaust and particulate matter contribute to atherosclerosis. "Several studies have suggested there is some connection, but they don't really know. That's what I'm going to study," she says.

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