Team Members

Originally from Honduras, I earned my PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Louisville in April 2020. Now, I am a part of Seattle Children's Research Institute as a Postdoctoral Fellow and ready to use my platform to mentor and encourage others to pursue a career in STEM. My research passions lie in studying host-pathogen interactions in the context of innate immunity, specifically from the point of view of neutrophils and mast cells. In my spare time, I enjoy baking and spending time with my Australian shepherd Tula and my collection of 100+ plants and succulents.

Hello, I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia - a place I keep near and dear to my heart despite living in Miami, Florida. I have had a long journey to becoming a PhD student at the University of Miami. I earned my bachelor's and my master's in Colombia and came to the United States in 2016.The last 3 years I was able to work as a Research Associate at the University of Miami, opening the door for me to begin my studies towards earning a PhD. I am excited to step into a role where I hope I can help other aspiring scientists connect with their passion, or find it all together.

I am a PhD Candidate in Biology, focusing in Infectious Diseases and Data Science at the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus. Currently, my thesis is oriented towards discovering combinational therapy against multi-drug resistant malaria parasites. In addition, I am a Certified Data Scientist and I enjoy working with Bioinformatics.

Originally from Argentina, Maria moved abroad, first to England and then to the US, for her undergraduate and graduate studies in biochemistry and molecular cell biology. She is currently a postdoc studying plant respiration using biochemical and structural biology approaches. Between her PhD and postdoc, Maria spent several years working in the consulting and financial industries in the US and Europe focusing on the pharma and biotech sectors.

Diego is a biologist at York College, City University of New York, and a Spanish speaker from the island of Puerto Rico. Previously, a 2016 CUNY Summer Research Program (CSURP) fellow and a 2017 Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) scholar, where he conducted research in a Behavioral and Molecular Neuroscience at Hunter College. He always felt that exploring and learning go hand in hand. Therefore, he is enthusiastic about being able to help others learn or understand and increase their knowledge of a subject and the STEM community.

My name is Jesus, an undergraduate student at the City College of New York pursuing a B.S. in Geology. I hope to address environmental issues in my community and pursue graduate school in the same field. Being formerly undocumented has brought me to work closely with my community and provide resources to them. Currently, I'm the Vice President of the CCNY Dream Team Club - a student club for undocumented students and allies. Also, I'm an Assistant for the Educational Opportunities Initiative, giving one-on-one consultations to improve the educational attainment for the immigrant community. And a volunteer for the Bronx River Alliance in their water quality and air quality stewardship programs. With my experiences navigating academia, I hope to continue bridging the educational gap in my community by volunteering with Cientifico Latino.

Kimberly is a PhD student in the Neurobiology and Behavior program at Columbia University where she studies neural circuits underlying social behaviors. She is Mexican-American and was born and raised in southern California. She attended CSU Long Beach and got her start in research as a MARC scholar. After undergrad, she moved to Ann Arbor, MI where she participated in the NIH PREP program for a year before moving to NYC for graduate school. At the start of her PhD, Kimberly was awarded the Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in 2019. Since her start in research, she has been passionate about helping URM succeed in STEM and has been involved in multiple outreach and diversity initiatives. She plans to continue these efforts with the goal of making diverse and inclusive environments in STEM.

Gwenaëlle graduated with honors from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2016, earning a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a minor in psychology. As an alumna of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, she has applied the Meyerhoff philosophy and mentorship models to continue increasing access to higher education and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Currently, she is a neurobiology PhD Candidate at Duke University where she is co-advised by Dr. Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD and Dr. Marc Caron, PhD. Her work focuses on the intersection between pharmacology, behavior, and neurophysiology and she hopes her research wilI reform treatment for mental illnesses. As a first generation student and an Afrolatina woman, she is committed to mentoring, amplifying the voices and experiences of marginalized students in STEM, and communicating science to be accessible by all.

Alexis is currently a trainee in the post-baccalaureate program (PROPEL) at the University of California, San Francisco. In the Sexual and Gender Minority Health Equity Lab, they work with Dr. Annesa Flentje investigating the effects of intersectionality on sexual and gender minority (SGM) health disparities and the social-ecological environment as it relates to drug use outcome. Their goal is be admitted into a Clinical Psychology program and continue investigating SGM health disparities. They are passionate about promoting the inclusion of historically marginalized groups in research and higher education. Alexis is excited to continue their involvement in Científico Latino in the efforts to diversify STEM.

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. While majoring in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla, I found a passion for both research and teaching. My research affinity is towards the biochemical aspect of life, especially in the study of genome/proteome interactions. I am a first-year graduate student at The Ohio State University. Acting advocate for the LGBTQ+ and minority communities. Hobbies include sudokus, sarcasm, and binge-watching Netflix. I cannot wait to give back the help Cientifico Latino offered when I applied to graduate school.

I was born in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. My family family immigrated to the United States when he was just a few years old and settled in Colorado. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Biology from Colorado Mesa University and PhD at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital where I study the role of genetic variants on stem cell fitness.

My name is José Fabricio López Hernández AKA Fibo. I studied the undergraduate program in Genomic Sciences in Mexico at UNAM and a Master's in Biology at Cinvestav-IPN. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in Zanders Lab at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. I am interested in how evolution shapes genetics. I study how selfish genetic elements, that act in meiosis, spread in populations.

Jazmin is currently a second-year PhD student in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducting research on acid-degradable, acid-amplifying polymers for biological applications. She is Chicana/Mexican-American, was born and raised in Los Angeles, and moved away from the warm West Coast to do her B.A. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University. While at Cornell, Jazmin became involved in student organizations aiming to build a support network for underrepresented minorities in STEM where she discovered a passion for mentoring and teaching other students. She has continued building on this through mentoring undergraduate students in research, organizing workshops in her SACNAS chapter, and joining the Cientifico Latino team.

Melissa is a computational and synthetic organic chemist. She was born in Los Angeles, CA and raised in Pasadena, CA as part of a Mexican American family. She is a first-generation college student and obtained her BA in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. Thereafter, Melissa attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she received a PhD in chemistry in 2021. Melissa served as Community Engagement Coordinator for UCLA's Organization for Cultural Diversity in Science and is enthusiastic about continuing to contribute to diversity initiatives in the STEM fields. She was motivated to join the Cientifico Latino team, which she will contribute to while also serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology starting the summer of 2021.

Paola is a PhD student in the Department of Cell Biology at Yale University, where she currently studies the neuronal cytoskeleton. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico where she received her Bachelors of Science at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. During her time as an undergraduate student, she was a NIH BP-ENDURE Fellow and founded the National Neuroscience Student Association. She is a passionate and driven advocate for underrepresented and marginalized individuals in STEM and has continuously mentored and supported them throughout her career. She began mentoring pre-college URM students in the Arecibo Observatory Space Academy program, while as an undergraduate, as a Universities Space Research Association Fellow. Furthermore, she was the Education and Outreach Chair for the International Space Development Conference from 2014 to 2016 and was the organizer of TEDxUPR, among other conferences. She is passionate about making STEM accessible and creating an environment that is diverse, equitable and inclusive to all individuals, specifically those who are historically marginalized. At Yale, she serves as the Yale Biology and Biomedical Sciences Diversity and Inclusion Collective Outreach Branch Leader, Cell Biology Department Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee PhD Student Representative, Women in Science at Yale Board Member, among others.

Hello everyone! I was born and raised in the Central Valley of California and graduated with my B.S. in Biology from the University of California, Merced. After a year working in Public Health, I will be an incoming Pathology PhD student at Duke University. As a queer Latina, I have become very passionate about promoting diversity and establishing a welcoming community in STEM.

Chris is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology. He works in the lab of Dr. Borden Lacy studying interactions between toxins produced by the bacterial pathogen Clostridioides difficile and the colon. He earned his Bachelor's in Biology from the University of Missouri in 2015, and went on to earn a PhD in Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University, where he stoked his passion for Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. He grew up between Columbia, Missouri and Mexico City. Chris is dedicated to improving academic environments for future scientists from historically marginalized backgrounds and strives to help others achieve their academic goals through mentorship and guidance.

Jyoti Sharma is currently pursuing master’s studies in Biochemistry at the University of Montreal with Dr. Nicole Francis as her thesis supervisor. She is a zoology graduate from the University of Delhi (2017). She held research fellowships at Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (IGMM) – CNRS, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), and Raman Research Institute (RRI).
As a team member, last year she handled the GSMI communications and shared resources on “Applying to Master’s Program in Europe” as a blog piece. This year she is excited to interact with the scholar’s aka protégés as a GSMI interviewer and share more of what she learned through webinars and infographics.
She is a proud first-generation student. In her spare time, she likes to watch planet documentaries and unravel trivia. She enjoys birding and currently learning the French language. She dreams to get lost in Andamans.

Kirill is a neurobiology graduate student working to develop new ways of interfacing with the brain at Duke University. He received his double BA in Neurobiology and in Computer Science from UC Berkeley. Himself being a first generation immigrant, Kirill seeks to help those struggling to navigate in American academic system, holding a firm belief that STEM education and careers should be accessible to everyone equally, despite their origins, immigration status, or financial situation.

Born in San Juan, Sebastian has lived most of his life in the island of Puerto Rico. He majored in Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus where he became a part of the local MARC program (Maximizing Access to Research Careers). Through a series of summer internships, as well as undergraduate research, Sebastian gained significant research experience in host-pathogen interactions, which motivated him to pursue a PhD in Immunology. As a current PhD student at Yale University, Sebastian currently works studying immune responses in the brain and how those responses may promote pathology under certain conditions. As a Puerto Rican and a MARC fellow, Sebastian feels a deep commitment to helping students from underrepresented groups apply to, navigate and perservere in grad school. As part of the Cientifico Latino team, Sebastian works closely with the Graduate School Preparation Initiative.

Sam is an argentinian-born, panamanian-raised medical doctor and writer, currently pursuing a Human Development, PhD in Cornell University.

Cristina is currently a sophomore majoring in Mathematics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where she is involved in undergraduate research in computational genomics and in mathematical biology. She is passionate about pushing boundaries between disciplines to further scientific research, and hopes to promote diversity in science by sharing resources for Latin American students and underrepresented minorities, especially at the undergraduate level.

Gabriela is currently a Ph.D. student in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program at Yale University. She was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Previously, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences at Cornell University.

Linda is a doctoral candidate in toxicology from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Quebec City, Canada. She was previously a professor at the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) in charge of the toxicology area and field experience at locations in the Lacandon Rain Forest, Cloud Forests, Boreal Forests, among others. She is also involved with community work in indigenous communities. Linda is passionate about mentoring and promoting diversity in STEM.

Gabriela is currently a senior majoring in Biology at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru. She's an incoming Biochemistry Ph.D. student at Vanderbilt University, where she was awarded the Russell G. Hamilton Fellowship. Previously, she worked as a research assistant at the Guengerich Lab at Vanderbilt, where she discovered her passion for the DNA damage and repair research field. During this time, as an international, she noticed how different was researching in the US and highlighted her desired to help students with similar backgrounds. Since then, she has volunteered in multiple science programs to aspire and help Peruvian girls and undergrads. In 2020 she was part of the GSMI cohort, and this experience motivated her to become a member of the Cientifico Latino team. Gabriela hopes to become a role model for Latin American students and underrepresented minorities, help them achieve their career goals, and promote diversity in STEM.

Amber is a graduate student in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She previously earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Yale University in 2021. Amber is passionate about science communication and promoting diversity in science and higher education. In the future, Amber hopes to become a research professor and contribute to sustainable space missions through bio-inspired design.

Marisa is passionate about addressing the disconnect between basic science and society through more effective communication and by making careers in science available to everyone. She earned her B.S in Chemistry from Marshall University and Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry from Yale University. After postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health, Marisa returned to Yale and is currently a science writer in the Office of Development. She is a first generation Cuban-American and grew up in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia.

Mindy graduated from Yale University, earning a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. She currently attends the University of Florida College of Medicine. Mindy is passionate about improving access to educational resources in the sciences. Her parents immigrated from Vietnam to the U.S., where she was born and raised in Titusville, FL. Mindy was the Científico Latino Blog Editor in Chief from 2019 to 2021.

My name is Alvaro Sahagun, and I am originally from Chicago Heights, IL. I attended the University of Illinois, Chicago, where I received my B. S. in Electrical Engineering with a focus in solid-state devices, mathematics, and materials engineering. I am now a second year Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) graduate student working in Prof. Akintunde Akinwande's lab. My research interest is in field emission, field ionization, thin films, and micro/nanofabrication. Outside of lab and courses, I enjoy running, cooking, baking, and binge watching The Simpsons.

Daniela is a first-gen Mexican-American scholar from Sunland Park, NM. She attended New Mexico State University for her undergraduate studies, where she obtained a degree in Biochemistry and participated in the MARC NIH program. Daniela is currently a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences at Harvard Medical School, studying the role of intestinal enteroendocrine cells in the host response to enteric bacterial infection. She is currently part of the CL social media team and has previously served as a mentor for our CL Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI) program. Outside of lab, Daniela enjoys playing soccer, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Abhishek is an incoming PhD student in the Computer Science department at the University of Rochester in Fall 2020. Born and raised in an Indian household, Abhishek is a first-generation college student. As an international first-generation student, Abhishek brings to Cientifico Latino the the desire to help future graduate students navigate hurdles in the application process to Computer Science and Engineering graduate programs. Abhishek believes that the ability to understand difficult situations and find solutions goes a long way in developing as a person. Having gone through graduate school applications twice, Abhishek is interested in understanding and dissecting problems and challenges that students face in different communities and help find better solutions and approaches to help them achieve their goals. With the diverse nature of Cientifico Latino, Abhishek is confident that the team will be able make a difference in a wide range of communities!

Cathy is currently a fourth-year graduate student in the Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry Department at Yale University. She works in the lab of Christian Schlieker on the morphology of the endoplasmic reticulum. She received her Bachelor's in Chemistry from Amherst College in 2014, where she discovered her interest in the intersection between chemistry and biology. After graduation, she worked as a lab technician at MIT for two years before gaining the confidence to apply to Ph.D. programs. Being a first-generation student who grew up in a Salvadoran family in Miami, FL, Cathy is passionate about mentoring future generations of underrepresented scientists and hopeful that we can work together to address the problem of lack of representation of underrepresented minority scholars in higher education.

Bailey received my B.S. in Molecular Biology at the University of Puget Sound. After her undergrad, she worked in industry for a year before returning to graduate school to receive her Masters in Biotechnology at San Jose State, a business-focus program for scientists. In addition to this program, she was selected as a CIRM Scholar to study Stem Cell Biology at Stanford. After a few years in industry, she is now working as a Program Associate at CZI.

Alan Goldman was born and raised in Queens, NY. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University, studying the mechanisms of photoinduced organometallic reactions. He then took an IBM Post-doctoral Fellowship in the lab of Prof. Jack Halpern at the University of Chicago. Goldman began his independent career as an assistant professor at Rutgers University where he is currently Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. His research focuses on the development and mechanistic study of reactions catalyzed by transition metal complexes, with a focus on energy-related problems. He is faculty advisor for LEEDAR, an outreach program through which Rutgers graduate and undergraduate students try to bring the excitement of scientific research to high school classrooms, and is Director of the Graduate Program and Chair of the Graduate Admissions Committee of the Rutgers Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Goldman has received an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Fellowship, the ACS Catalysis Lectureship Award for the Advancement of Catalytic Science, and the American Chemical Society Award in Organometallic Chemistry. He is delighted to be part of Cientifico Latino!

Dr. De La Cruz is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B) and Head of Branford College at Yale University. He is a first generation Cuban-American who was raised in Newark, NJ. Dr. De La Cruz received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Rutgers University where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Beta Beta Honor Societies. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology (BCMB) with Dr. Thomas D. Pollard at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and received postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Drs. H. Lee Sweeney and E. Michael Ostap at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was a Visiting Scientist at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA) & Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, France in 2009, a Mayent-Rothschild Senior Researcher Fellow at the Institut Curie, Paris in 2015, and an Invited Professor Fellow at ESPCI Paris Tech (école supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris), Paris in 2016. Dr. De La Cruz research focuses in the areas of actin and myosin regulation, RNA helicases, and signaling enzymes.

Dr. Sua Myong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biophysics and an affiliate of CMDB (Cellular Molecular Developmental Biology and Biophysics) graduate program at Johns Hopkins University. She is a first generation Korean-American who came to the US as a Sophomore High School student. Dr. Myong received both her undergraduate and doctorate degree at University of California, Berkeley (Molecular Cellular Biology, Biochemistry/Nutrition). Her research interest in the field of Single Molecule Biophysics developed in her postdoctorate years in the laboratory of Dr. Taekjip Ha at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. The current research area in the Myong laboratory include investigating molecular interactions involved in telomere processing, gene expression mediated by G-quadruplex and phase separation implicated in neurodegeneration (ALS/FTD). Dr. Myong led a three year long (2012-2015) STEM outreach in Jefferson Middle School (Champaign, IL) in the form of weekly afterschool science club for teaching 7&8th graders experimental science and quantitative data analysis. The outreach effort involved approximately 50 undergraduate students in Bioengineering program at University of Illinois who prepared lesson plans with Dr. Myong and teaching the middle schoolers in a group of 2-3 students per week. Dr. Myong is passionate about STEM outreach and is privileged to be a part of the Cientifico Latino!

Español: La Dra. Giovanna Guerrero-Medina es Directora Ejecutiva de Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR) y Directora de la Iniciativa Yale Ciencia, en Yale University. A través de estos puestos, la Dra. Guerrero-Medina desarrolla y estudia programas que amplían la participación en la educación y las carreras STEM. Bajo su liderazgo, CienciaPR se ha convertido en una de las comunidades de científicos hispanos más grandes del mundo, ha obtenido fondos federales y de fundaciones para apoyar la diversidad en la educación científica y el desarrollo profesional de científicos, y en 2015 recibió el reconocimiento como “Estrella” en la educación científica de hispanos por parte de la Casa Blanca. La Dra. Guerrero-Medina es investigadora principal de la Academia Yale Ciencia, con fondos del NIH, la cual provee oportunidades de desarrollo profesional, divulgación científica y creación de redes a estudiantes graduados a través de los EEUU y Puerto Rico. También dirige el programa Ciencia al Servicio, con fondos del NSF, para promover colaboraciones entre científicos y maestros en el desarrollo de lecciones de ciencia más pertinentes y efectivas. La Dra. Guerrero-Medina ha trabajado como Directora de Política Científica en el Instituto de Investigación Van Andel, como Analista de Políticas de Ciencias de la Salud en los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud, y fue becaria del programa Christine Mirzayan de Política Pública en Ciencia y Tecnología. Tiene un doctorado en biología molecular y celular de la Universidad de California, Berkeley, donde tuvo una beca pre-doctoral Howard Hughes para estudiar el desarrollo de conexiones neuronales a través de sensores de actividad sináptica genéticamente codificados. Obtuvo su B.S. en biología de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.

English: Dr. Giovanna Guerrero-Medina is Executive Director of Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR) and Director of the Yale Ciencia Initiative at Yale University, positions that allow her to advance programs that broaden participation in science education and careers. Under her leadership, CienciaPR has become one of the largest networked communities of Hispanic scientists in the world, has secured federal and foundation funding to support diversity in science education and career development, and has received recognition as a “Bright Spot” in science education for Hispanics by the Obama White House and as Science Defender by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dr. Guerrero-Medina currently leads the NIH-funded Yale Ciencia Academy, which provides young scientists from diverse backgrounds opportunities for professional development, leadership, and community outreach. She also directs the NSF-funded Ciencia al Servicio program, to promote collaborations between scientists and teachers so that students in Puerto Rico have access to culturally-relevant, engaging and effective science lessons. Dr. Guerrero-Medina’s career spans positions in government, non-profit, and academic settings. She has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, received a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and was a National Academy of Science and Technology Policy Fellow.

Valeria is 2nd year PhD student in the joint Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology Biomedical Engineering program. She is Mexican-American, and was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Valeria's research focuses on modelling gut microbiome - lymphoid cell interactions using biomaterials, organoids and microfluidics. In 2020, she was recognized as a National GEM Consortium Associate Fellow. Valeria also graduated with highest honors from the UTSA in 2020, earning her Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering. While at UTSA, she was an NIH MARC U*STAR fellow and a College of Engineering Haliburton Ambassador. Valeria continues to be passionate about mentorship, educational outreach and supporting underrepresented and marginalized students in STEM. She aims to inspire, motivate, and train the next generation of successful scientists and engineers and make academia more diverse, equitable and inclusive for all.

I am a second-year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at UTRGV. My research centers on adapting and developing interventions that are evidence-based, transportable, culturally informed, and effectively implemented in various community settings that benefit individuals with immigrant and linguistic minority backgrounds. I am particularly interested in developing these interventions for survivors of violence (e.g., domestic violence, human trafficking). Outside of school and work, I enjoy reading, watching movies, hiking, and playing video games.

Hannah is a molecular biology PhD student at the University of Utah studying the roles of RNA editing enzymes and RNA sensors in antiviral immunity and autoimmunity. They received their Bachelor of Science degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in Microbiology. Hannah is passionate about helping students from marginalized backgrounds, especially those with intersecting marginalized identities navigate academia and be successful in graduate school. They are also dedicated to mentoring undergraduate students and advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community in academia. Hannah was a GSMI scholar in 2019 and a GSMI mentor in 2020. Their experience with the GSMI opened up opportunities to join the Social Media Team.

Yaniris Molina Aponte works as a research technologist and lab manager at Johns Hopkins University. In August 2023, she will start graduate school as an immunology PhD student at Harvard University. She will be supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Yaniris graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, with a double major in Biology and Microbiology and a minor in Chemistry. She is passionate about science outreach and mentorship of historically marginalized students. She has worked with science outreach programs like the Puerto Rico Science Heroes, where she organized fun STEM experiments for children from underserved communities. Yaniris also collaborated with PROUD, an HHMI funded program at UPR-Humacao, to support first-generation students in STEM. As a member of Cientifico Latino, she aims to give back to her community with the goal of increasing the number of LatinX and Hispanic students pursuing graduate school in the US.

Bryan is a third year PhD student at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. His research is in the engineering of plasmonic devices for biosensing. Bryan is interested in making science education at all levels accessible to everyone regardless of race, gender, sexual preferences, or socioeconomic status. As a first generation, low-income, Mexican-American Bryan understands the challenges that historically excluded groups face when pursuing higher education. Through various organizations and independent efforts Bryan has been able to engage with students at all levels by planning seminars, professional development events, community-building events, and STEM educational outreach events for elementary school school-aged students.

Ya'el is a fourth year PhD candidate in Neuroscience at Harvard University. She works with Dr. Maria Lehtinen, studying the role of cerebrospinal fluid and the choroid plexus in embryonic brain development. Ya'el applied for the NSF-GRFP as a senior undergraduate, and received an honorable mention. She applied again as a second year PhD candidate and was awarded the fellowship. Since then, she has also been awarded the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship. In addition to bench science, Ya'el is passionate about science education, writing, and mentorship. She works with several organizations as an application consultant as well as a scientific writer. She has worked with Cientifico Latino over several years as a GSMI mentor, a GSEC mentor, and now is ecstatic to help students applying to the NSF-GRFP hone their applications.

Hello, my name is Kimberly Leon. I am a PhD student in the Cognition and Neural Systems Psychology PhD Program at the University of Arizona. I earned my bachelor's degree in Psychological science at the University of Arizona. My research interest is bilingual language development. I aspire to bring to light the strengths of bilingual children and provide guidance on how to best aid the development of bilingual children. Ultimately, I hope to utilize my research to directly aid and serve bilingual communities.

Cristina is currently a third year Neuroscience PhD candidate at Michigan State University. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she received her BS in biology from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. Cristina’s research focuses on investigating the role of various neuropeptides in morphine behaviors by using mouse models to gain a better understanding of opioid use disorder. She has received the NSF GRFP and the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship to assist with her research. In addition to her lab work, Cristina is part of her graduate program’s executive committee, has volunteered in multiple outreach committees and programs, and is the incoming graduate student council president. She hopes to promote DEI initiatives at her institution and assist with demystifying the graduate school experience. In her spare time, Cristina enjoys spending time with her dog, playing tennis, and going to the movies.

I am interested in studying the molecular interactions of biomolecules that constitute a wide range of cellular and functional processes to develop therapeutic agents for various diseases. Apart from my commitment to Science, I am also committed to our community of diverse intellectual students where my goal is to help others achieve their dreams.

Nicholas is a Gene Therapy and Vaccines PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania developing therapeutic mRNAs for use in lipid nanoparticles in the laboratory of Dr. Drew Weissman. He is Mexican American and was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. He got his start in research in the High Scholars Program at the University of Texas Pan American before starting undergrad at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology with a concentration in microbiology. Since his start at the University of Texas, he has been avid about helping underrepresented minorities excel in STEM and has been involved in multiple outreach initiatives. He plans to continue these efforts during his graduate studies to continue to foster a welcoming and supportive environment for URM.

Ben is currently a second-year postdoc in the Microbiology department at Stanford University, where he works in the laboratory of Dr. Denise Monack on the pathogenesis of human-adapted Salmonella. He received his BS from the California Institute of Technology in 2015, and his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is 2021. As Ben was raised in a first-generation immigrant household, he has witnessed the challenges that minority groups can face in education and beyond. In turn, Ben is passionate about increasing access to science and has participated in multiple STEM-related outreach programs, including the SIMR (Summer Institute of Medical Research) program at Stanford, which pairs underrepresented high school students with host Stanford labs for summer internships. As he continues to embark upon an academic career, Ben looks forward to mentoring future students from underrepresented backgrounds and be a strong advocate for increased representation and equality in science and higher education.

Adriana is a neuroscience PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University researching the neural correlates of multisensory motion perception in non-human primates. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies in 2019, she earned a B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester in 2017 and worked as a research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for 2 years. At Vanderbilt, Adriana has previously served as the Outreach Committee Chair for the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and is currently their Curriculum Committee Chair. As a dual citizen of Argentina and the USA, Adriana aims to increase the representation of Latino/a and other URM individuals within STEM by improving access to PhD programs.

I am a proud first-generation college graduate of immigrant parents from Central America (El Salvador & Honduras). Currently, I am wrapping up my first year in a Biology Ph.D. program. My research interests lie STEM and Biology education. More specifically, I am interested in the transition from high school into college. I have had several experiences in the world of education, and most recently taught biology in an urban high school in Massachusetts. Teaching reinforced my passion for making a difference, and further cemented by desire to pursue a PhD. When I am not busy learning, I enjoy traveling (have visited 34 states), watching movies, and simply going out to have fun. I am a strong believer in the power of positivity and good vibes, and always make it a mission to spread smiles. To the person reading this, what is something good that has happened to you recently?