Grad Slam 2025 Judges

Grad Slam is a systemwide competition that showcases and awards the best three-minute research presentations by graduate scholars. This competition not only highlights the excellence, importance and relevance of UCI graduate scholars and their research, but it is also designed to increase graduate students’ communication skills and their capacity to effectively present their work with poise and confidence. It is an opportunity to share accomplishments with the campus, friends of UCI, the local community, and the broader public. This year’s edition of Grad Slam will be virtual, from the semifinals all the way through UC Systemwide Finals. See below to meet the judges of the 2024 UCI Grad Slam, our 11th Anniversary Edition!

Anderee Berengian

Anderee Berengian is CEO at Cie Digital Labs and Managing Partner at RezVen. He is a serial entrepreneur and board member. Cie Digital Labs (CDL) is a hybrid interactive development firm and technology startup studio. CDL creates leading-edge digital solutions, serves as an innovation lab for a variety of prominent global brands, and acts as a platform to develop ideas and turn them into new technology ventures.

Cie Digital Labs blends Silicon Valley know-how, startup dynamism and speed with the business maturity of serial entrepreneurs, seasoned venture capitalists, and Fortune 500 executives. This combination gives CDL a deep understanding of how to apply the latest technology to solve strategic and operational business challenges. CDL’s unique hybrid model also enables the company to identify new opportunities that CDL’s startup studio incubates, develops, and accelerates into new products and companies. Through his roles at CEI and Rezven, Berengian supports and mentors a wide variety of startup entrepreneurs as well as UCI students.

He earned his BS in Biochemists from UCLA, M.A. in Business from USC, and completed ABD for his Ph.D. in Biophysics at UCLA before recognizing his true passion as an entrepreneur.

Berengian gives back by serving as a board member for nonprofits Discovery Cube of Orange County and as a Board Member for Human Options, Inc. as well as for profit companies PETCO Animal Supplies, Vody, and Titan School Solutions, amongst others.

 

Angela Z. Dailey

Angela Z. Dailey is CEO of WISE, Women Investing in Security and Education (WISE), an award winning Orange County based nonprofit focused on financial empowerment for women of all ages. She is also founder and managing partner of DAI Partners, a national strategic communications firm for the financial services industry.  Prior to founding DAI, Angela was senior vice president and member of the Board of Directors at Drexel Burnham Lambert, one of the first women to serve on the board of a major financial firm.  Angela has served on a number of boards focused on financial literacy and diversity.  She has spent her career mentoring young women. Angela has two sons, both working in finance.

Dr. Tara Flaugher

Dr. Flaugher is a civilian research scientist at the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific in San Diego. She is a neuroscientist specializing in the connection between mild traumatic brain injury and language comprehension. Her current research addresses how AI technology can be used to assist in complex neural, cognitive, and behavior challenges. Dr. Flaugher is a recipient of the Department of Defense SMART Scholarship and the Pat Tillman Foundation Tillman Scholar designation.

Chris Lay

Christopher (Chris) Lay is a Founding Partner at Leonid Capital Partners, a leading private credit fund focused on supporting U.S. National Security, Intelligence, and Space entrepreneurs. Before entering financial services, Chris spent 15 years in neuroscience research. He holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from UC Irvine, where he was an American Heart Association Fellow and a Public Impact Fellowship recipient. He also serves on the Dean’s Leadership Council Board of Directors.

Monica Alfaro Welling

Monica is an accomplished life sciences executive and board director with over 30 years of experience building and leading high-performing organizations across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare sectors. She brings deep expertise in strategic growth, product development, and commercialization, having served in leadership roles at both multinational corporations and emerging companies.                          

As an Independent Board Director for Neola Medical (publ.), a Swedish medtech company developing innovative monitoring devices for neonates, and Henlez, Aps, a Danish venture-backed biopharma company advancing enzyme-based therapeutics for dermatological conditions, Monica provides strategic and operational guidance to their first-time CEOs. She also contributes her healthcare expertise as a Board Member of Wellnest, a Los Angeles-based non-profit providing mental health services and transitional housing to children and young adults.

As Co-Founder and Managing Director of Atheln, Inc., she leads a consulting group of over 100 industry experts, providing strategic guidance to life science companies on product development and commercialization. Her previous executive roles include CEO of Trethera Corporation, where she led a successful corporate turnaround and reengaged existing investors to support two rounds of bridge funding, Head of Development of Journey Colab, where she drove several key development milestones and closed a +$12.5M Series A raise, and Senior Vice President at Hythiam (now Catasys), where she drove significant market cap growth. Earlier in her career, she held senior leadership positions at Allergan (now AbbVie) and Novo Nordisk A/S, where she spearheaded the development and commercial strategy for multiple billion- dollar brands including BOTOX.

She currently serves on the Dean’s Leadership Council at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and actively mentors emerging biotech entrepreneurs through Nordic Mentors for Entrepreneurship (NOME) and California Life Sciences’ FAST program. Monica is also a advisor for Octane’s LaunchPad and recently became a Board Advisor for Bioinnovation Institute Foundation (BII), a Novo Foundation funded international incubator to accelerate world-class life science innovation.

Her contributions to the life sciences industry have been recognized with the 2024 Mentor of the Year award from Nordic Mentors for Entrepreneurship (NOME) and the 2023 Distinguished Alumna award from UC Irvine’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.