University: University of Texas at Austin
Hometown: Houston, TX
NIH Research Project:
Harvesting DNA Vaccines from the Spit of Arthropod Vectors
Mentor: Jesus G. Valenzuela, Ph.D.
Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
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I was never really a healthy child because of microbes: Growing up in Mexico, I went through everything from impetigo to hepatitis to lice to hookworms to measles and chicken pox-enough infections to give me a lifelong fascination with infectious diseases. Later in college, I traveled to Bolivia to educate people in rural areas about Chagas disease. It was the most gratifying experience of my life, and I decided to pursue a career in medicine.
My interest in biomedical research came when I applied for a job washing lab dishes in the laboratory of Dr. Malcolm Brown at the University of Texas at Austin. To my surprise, Dr. Brown gave me a project, and I soon became a regular member of the lab team. With the help of Dr. Brown and Dr. Inder Saxena, I completed my honors thesis studying the cellular localization and structure of two proteins involved in the creation of cellulose. At the same time I participated in other research projects, spending a summer at Baylor College of Medicine's SMART Program, where I used RNA interference to reduce the expression levels of Her2, a receptor that causes cancer when overexpressed.
I recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with highest honors in microbiology and a minor in Spanish literature. I am interested in pursuing an M.D./Ph.D., specializing in infectious disease. I am currently training with Dr. Jesus Valenzuela in the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Valenzuela's lab focuses on developing a vaccine against the Leishmania parasite using salivary gland proteins from sand flies, the natural vectors of Leishmaniasis, a cutaneous disease characterized by boils and sores. |
