B12 METABOLISM IN HUMANS By NICOLE AURORA LEAL A ...

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Nicole Aurora Leal was born to Raul and Adrianne Leal, on August 2, 1976, in
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Nicole and her family moved to New York City
during the summer of 1979; and 2 years later, to South Florida, where she learned
English while attending Pinecrest Elementary School. She attended Plantation Key
Middle School, and Coral Shores High School, in the Florida Keys. It was during middle
school that Nicole first starting taking an active interest in music and science. During her
final years of middle school, the tragic loss of her brother Ryan to cancer awakened a
desire to study the life sciences. In high school, she continued to pursue both music and
science. During this time, Nicole was a member of the honors choir, competed in
regional competitions, and was selected to represent her school at choral camp at the
University of Miami. She was a key member of the Coral Shores High School Odyssey
of the Mind team, where she competed at both the regional and state levels winning the
Ranatra Fusca award for creativity in consecutive years. Throughout High School,
Nicole volunteered extensively with Youthwish, a nonprofit organization helping
children displaced by Hurricane Andrew; and Habitat for Humanity. She earned a degree
in microbiology and cell science (with a minor in chemistry) at the University of Florida,
in Gainesville, in the Spring of 1999. During this time, she conducted undergraduate
research in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Bobik. In the Summer of 1999, she continued
working in Dr. Bobik’s laboratory, studying B12-dependent 1,2-propanediol degradation
in Salmonella. She was accepted into Graduate School in the Fall of 1999, and continued
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