Christine Mirzayan was an intern in the second year of the internship program working for the Commission on Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education (CSMEE). She had recently finished her Ph.D. from the University of California in San Francisco and had been selected as a 1998 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Congressional fellow.
At UCSF, her research focused on the development of the vertebrate nervous system. In particular, she analyzed the molecular mechanism by which diffusible cues guide the migration of developing axons. While at UCSF, she found that although she enjoyed basic research, she was increasingly interested in the role that science plays in society and looked forward to a career that would allow her to utilize her scientific knowledge to address the political and social problems facing our nation.
Tragically, she was unable to reach that goal when she lost her life during the last week of the internship program. The National Academy of Sciences has named the internship program in her honor.
Was anybody paid $10,000 by Condit in August or Sept 1998 when Mirzayan died?