5,000+

Zairín N. Torres-Vargas is a senior student
pursuing a BS in Microbial Technology
from UPRA. She has been actively
participated in research projects in
chemical, microbiology, proteomics,
environmental and engineering fields. In
Summer 2011, she participated in a
research internship at the Naval Research
Labs (NRL) where she was awarded the
third place for her oral presentation. She
has also presented the results of her
research work in the ACS National Meetings, the PRISM & ACS
JR Technical Meetings. In March 2010, she was awarded for
the Minority Undergraduate Student Travel Award to attend the
49th Annual Meeting of Society of Toxicology in Salk Lake City,
Utah.
Christian Irizarry-Nieves completed his
Bachelor in Technology (BT) in Industrial
Chemical Processes in 2011. While at
UPRA, he conducted research in the
determination of heavy metals in aquatic
plants from a natural wetland in the
northern part of PR. In Summer of 2010,
he participated in a research internship at
the Naval Research Laboratories (NRL)
in the Department of Materials Engineer,
Alternative Energy Section; Chemical Dynamics and
Diagnostics Branch where his research project focused on the
synthesis and electrochemical Characterization of Li2CuO2 Liion
battery cathodes.
Alex Lugo-Valle earned a BS in
Microbial Technology from University
or Puerto Rico, Arecibo in 2002 and
his MS in Molecular Medicine from
The Pennsylvania State University in
2011. As an undergraduate, he
participated in the LSAMP
Undergraduate Research Program in
the area of Bioremediation of heavy
metals using aquatic plants and in HACU National Internship
Program where he worked for the FDA and the Spaceflight and
Life Sciences Training Program at the NASA Kennedy Space
Center. In PR, he worked at Abbott Laboratories and at Ortho
Biologics where he developed a special interest in
biotechnology. This interest led him to graduate school where
he worked in the project “Biochemical Characterization of
Dengue Non-structural 5 (NS5) and General Acid Derivatives”.
Juan J. Nieves Alvarez earned his B.S. degree
in Biology in 2010 from the University of Puerto
Rico, Bayamon. He participated in a variety of
research projects sponsored by the LSAMP
program: bark beetle diet specificity and longterm
census of Plumeria alba trees. During 2007,
Juan received a grant from Ecological Society of
America’s SEEDS program to research Hermit
Crab population dynamics. For two years, he served as
president of the student association L.I.F.E. representing UPR-
Bayamon both years at the ESA’s Annual Meeting. In 2009,
Juan went to Costa Rica with a grant from the Organization for
Tropical Studies study abroad program for undergraduate
students. Currently, he’s working as a science and math
teacher at the Fountain Christian Bilingual School while he
explores the area of education as a way to integrate research in
science to grade school levels.
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Axel Vázquez-Deida is a third-year
undergraduate student pursuing a BS in
Microbiological Sciences from UPRA. He was
awarded to participate in the 2011 Biomedical
and Comparative Immunology Symposium-
Biological Diversity: Cellular and Molecular
Interactions, held at the Florida International
University (FIU). In Summer 2011, he
participated in a research internship at FIU,
where he studied the effects of copper exposure
on the antibiotic resistance and susceptibility of
soil bacteria. He is currently working in a research project
sponsored by PR-LSAMP to study the tolerance and uptake of
cadmium in rhizobacteria from Salvinia minima.
Jesús Vega-Colón is a third-year
undergraduate student at UPRA. In Summer
2011 he was selected as an NSF-REU student
to participate in a research project at the
Department of Plant Pathology and
Microbiology from Texas A&M University. He
worked on the characterization of nonribosomal
peptide synthetases (NRPS) genes from
Trichoderma virens and their role in biocontrol.
Jesús was awarded to participate in the 2011
Biomedical and Comparative Immunology Symposium-Biological
Diversity: Cellular and Molecular Interactions, held at the Florida
International University (FIU).
Derick Huertas-Álvarez is finishing
a BS in Microbial Technology from
the University of Puerto Rico at
Arecibo (UPRA). He is one or the
fellows of the LSAMP Mentored
Undergraduate Research Program.
in the summer of 2011 he
participated a Summer Research
Opportunity Program at Michigan State University (MSU) where
he worked in a research project on neuroscience in the
Pharmacology and Toxicology Department. He presented his
research at several conferences including the CIC conference in
Ohio. He is willing to start a PhD in neuroscience Ohio State
University in 2012.
Ricardo J. Rivera earned his BS degree in Biology
from the University of Puerto Rico (PR), Bayamón
in 2009. During his undergraduate studies he was
funded by the LSAMP and participated in field
research in the dry forest region of (PR). Also,
through his experience in LSAMP, he was
introduced to internship opportunities with the NSF.
He participated in a Research Experience for
Undergraduates (REU) summer opportunity at the University of
Virginia’s Blandy Experimental Farm. This experience gave him
the opportunity to present his research at the Ecological Society of
America Annual Meeting in 2010. Currently he is a graduate
student at Northwestern University in the area of Plant Biology and
Conservation. His Master’s thesis is on phenotypic variation in
populations of a plant endemic to Colorado (Oenothera
harringtonii).