INVOLVEMENTS

University of Florida College of Medicine Research Lab Assistant: Bizon/Setlow Lab

Pre-Health Scholars Service Group Leader

Hispanic Student Association Member Leadership Program Professional and Academic Development Committee Member

Medi-Gators Member

Prior to my enrollment at the University of Florida, I always had a passion for chemistry. I constantly sought a scientific explanation to life’s processes and was even more intrigued by the chemical interactions that occur in the human body every day, therefore leading to my declaration of Biochemistry.

I am also a pre-medical student and have a strong interest in neurosurgery and applications of neuroscientific research in the clinical setting, which led to me taking on a second major in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. I am interested in the brain and how neurobiological and neurochemical mechanisms impact our cognition.

In my first semester at UF, I struggled to find individuals of my same ethnic background, which led me to the realization that minorities face several barriers to adjusting to society as a whole—barriers I had never experienced coming from a city where the ethnic population was very high. Taking my own experiences into account, I continued to think about how such implications could apply even more so in the clinical setting. With a minor in Health Disparities, I aim to bridge the gap between individuals of different ethnic backgrounds, sexualities, races, and more and quality healthcare by seeking methods of providing these communities with high-quality healthcare through community engagement and outreach to bring equality to my people and society as a whole and diminish health disparities altogether.

My ultimate goal is to pursue an M.D., Ph.D in Neuroscience and learn more about the mechanisms behind Alzheimer’s disease to develop more successful preventative measures and potential cures for the disease, all while seeking ways to bring high-quality healthcare to underserved individuals in my community.