Yara Khatib Named 2025 UC Davis Grad Slam Champion
Graduate student in Olsen Lab at Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics will compete at UC Grad Slam on April 29
Fourth-year Pharmacology and Toxicology Ph.D. candidate Yara Khatib won first place at the UC Davis Grad Slam Semi-Final round on Friday, April 11, 2025. Her winning presentation "The Road to Recovery: Psychedelic-like drugs for Improving Mental Health" earned her a $5,000 first prize.
Khatib's presentation and research examined how different drugs affect the structure of brain cells, an interest that began as an undergraduate.
"I studied Pharmacology and Molecular Genetics at King’s College London, then went on to earn my Master’s in Pharmacology at Georgetown University — an experience that sparked my passion for understanding and treating mental health conditions," said Khatib. "Now, I’m a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Olson Lab, studying how different drugs affect the structure of brain cells."
Khatib believes that treatments for mental and neurological disorders can be improved, which prompted her current research.
"I’m developing new lab tests, called assays, that help us quickly see how potential medicines might change the shape and connections between cells. This kind of work gives us early clues about how a drug might work in the brain, which is an important step toward finding better treatments for mental and neurological disorders."
At Grad Slam, Khatib presented her work to address the structural breakdowns and connections neurological disorders can cause and how psychedelic-like drugs can treat key aspects of the conditions rather than managing the symptoms with unwanted side effects.
From her presentation, Khatib revealed, "Researchers in the Olsen Lab at the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics have found that psychedelic drugs can both rapidly and consistently restore these lost connections in the brain." Khatib and the Olsen lab have found that the restorative qualities of physicadelics can be teased apart from the hallucinogenic side effects to create new psychedelic-like drugs that harness these restorative qualities. From these drugs, new treatments can be developed that don't just address the symptoms, but also rebuild the road to recovery.
Congratulations to All the Semi-Final Round Winners
The following graduate students also received top scores from the judges and finished the competition with their own awards, recognition and prize money.
Second Place $2,000 Award Winner
Diana Malarchik, Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology
"Truth in the Tooth: Insights into Breastfeeding in Historic San Francisco"
Third Place $1,000 Award Winner
Olivia Feldman, Ph.D. candidate in Ecology
"Using Interdisciplinary Methods to Evaluate Carnivore-Livestock Conflict in Patagonian Ranchland"
People's Choice Award $500 Winner
Marianna Moraes, Ph.D. student in Anthropology
"Can Human Emotional States Affect Animal Communication and Behavior?"
Public Impact Prize $500 Winner
Emma Bernard, Ph.D. student in Materials Science Engineering
"Ultrafast nanoscale magnetization dynamics probed by time-resolved EUV magnetic scattering"
Watch: 2025 UC Davis Grad Slam Competition
Cheer on Yara at the University of California Grad Slam Competition
Yara Khatib will represent UC Davis at the University of California Grad Slam Finals on April 29, where she will compete against the other UC campus champions. Join us in Walker Hall for a Grad Studies-hosted watch party or tune in to the live stream to cheer her on!
Judges from the Campus Community and Beyond
UC Davis Graduate Studies invited judges from the local community to evaluate the students’ presentations. The final round judges were:
- Dr. Simon Atkinson, Vice Chancellor for Research, UC Davis
- Dr. Anne Kjemtrup, Research Scientist, Veterinarian for the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Vector-Borne Disease Section (VBDS)
- Dr. Stacey Muse, Director of Engagement, Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement, UC Davis
- Rinki Sethi, Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, Bill.com
- Bapu Vaitla, Mayor, City of Davis
- Dr. Gordon Walker, Speaker, Science Communicator, Author, and Social Media Personality
UC Davis Grad Slam Sponsors
