On April 29, UC Riverside doctoral candidate Angeliz Vargas Casillas placed third in the 2025 UC Grad Slam, an annual competition challenging graduate students from the 10 UC campuses to effectively pitch their years-long Ph.D. research ... within three minutes ... using one single presentation slide. Gulp.

The competition took place in Sacramento at the UC Student and Policy Center and was emceed by UC President Michael V. Drake, who concluded each pitch with light-hearted questions about the contestants’ pets and hobbies. Judges included a local high school student, the vice chair of UC’s Academic Senate, a UC Regent, a New York Times journalist, and a representative from the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. The competition has been streamed approximately 3,000 times. Casillas’ math department held a live watch party and cheered her on from Skye Hall.

Casillas’ research, “When Math Meets Your Skin: A Multiscale Model of Keloid Scar Expansion,” won her third place and $3,000. First place went to Sophia Miliotis of UC San Francisco, second place to Yara Khatib of UC Davis, and the Audience Choice award to Adekunle Adewole of UC Merced.

Casillas was selected to move on to the UC-wide final after winning the $5,000 first-place prize at UCR’s 2025 Grad Slam on April 11, where she competed against eight of her campus peers.

“I am happy that my research was able to stand out enough to place,” Casillas said. “I hope that it can demystify what an applied mathematician can do.”

Casillas is expected to graduate with a mathematics doctoral degree from UCR’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in 2026.

If you missed the live competition, you can watch the 2025 UC Grad Slam recording on YouTube, learn about the finalists/research topics, or meet the judges.

Q: Tell us about your research on modeling keloid scar expansion?

A: Keloid scars are wounds that do not heal properly and result in a tumor-like overgrowth on the skin that continues to grow past the initial injury region. They are only found in human skin and attempts to surgically remove them only worsen the scars when they grow back. To understand the cell interactions that lead to keloid scar expansion without further injuring patients, I created a computer-based mathematical model. Using this model, I predict the cell signaling that leads to keloid expansion. Now, our biology collaborators can test these predictions and suggest potential keloid treatments.

Q: After the UCR win, how did you prepare for the UC competition?

A: I met up with Laura McGeehan, last year’s UCR champion Shannon Brady, and my advisor Dr. Qixuan Wang to go over my slide and script to make some changes before the UC competition. After the final edits were made, I focused on memorizing my script and practicing my movement.

Q: Who from campus and from your network traveled to Sacramento with you?

A: I met up in Sacramento with my advisor Dr. Qixuan Wang, Laura McGeehan, and Dr. Lidia Kos. We also met a UC Riverside alumnus who is an alumni regent, Geoffrey Pack.

Q: What were the similarities/differences between the UCR and UC competitions?

A: Similarities: The other presenters were all super friendly and kind towards one another, everyone was eager to share their work, there were several comedic moments throughout the competition, audience members were respectful and attentive.

Differences: The stages at UCR were more spacious, and the slide was visible directly behind the speaker, so it was easier to directly refer to it when explaining a concept. In Sacramento, there was a lot of practice immediately before the competition to make sure we were all ready for when we needed to go up on stage. At UCR, we practiced several times leading up to the final.

Q: What is your biggest takeaway from this experience?

A: If you are not sure whether you should sign up for the competition, do it! I was hesitant, but I went for it and it has helped with meeting new people who are interested in my work and it feels extremely rewarding. I would also like to make sure that I give credit to my advisor Dr. Qixuan Wang and our collaborators from UC Irvine, Dr. Maksim Plikus and Dr. Yingzi Liu, for their contribution to this project.

Q: Any advice to future UCR Grad Slammers?

A: Take advantage of all of the resources offered by Laura McGeehan. I went to every single feedback session and made many changes to my script throughout the competition.

Q: What are the plans for your last year at UCR?

A: I will continue to work on my research and apply for any opportunity to share my work. I would like to start looking for an industry position or a postdoc in the next few months.

Related articles: A tale of Tinder wins the day at 10th annual UC Grad Slam (Apollonia Morrill/UCOP)