5,000+

Efraín Rivera completed his B.S. in Biology
from the Pontifical Catholic University of
Puerto Rico in 2009, where he was a PR-
LSAMP scholar. He participated in two
different summer internship experiences in
the Department of Microbiology and the
Department of Plant Biology at North
Carolina State University (NCSU). In 2009,
he started his Ph.D. in Plant Biology, with emphasis in Molecular
Cell Biology. He obtained a scholarship from the Initiative for
Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) at NCSU during his first
year, and a two-year Graduate Assistance in Areas of National
Need (GAANN) fellowship.
Dianaliz Santiago obtained a B.S. in
Biology from Pontifical Catholic
University of Puerto Rico in 2007. As
undergraduate, she participated as PR-
LSAMP scholar and did two summer
internships at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and Rutgers
University/UMDNJ. From 2007-2010 she participated in the
Bridge to the Doctoral Degree Program at UMDNJ/Rutgers and
the University of PR in Mayagüez. . Currently, she is a Ph.D.
candidate in Neuroscience at Rutgers University. Since 2009,
she has been working in Dr. Maureen Barr’s laboratory studying
the function of tumor necrosis receptor associated factors
(TRAFs) in C. elegans. Dianaliz has presented her research at
the CIC/SROP Conference, ABRCMS and the International C.
elegans Meeting.
Oscar Vargas received a B.S. in Chemistry
from Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto
Rico (PCUPR) in May 2008. As a PR-LSAMP
scholar, Oscar conducted research in the
laboratory of Dr. Margarita Rodriguez at
PCUPR. He also participated in the Summer
Research Institute for Biomedical Materials
Science and Engineering (RIBSE) at the State
University of New York at Buffalo in 2007.
Oscar joined the graduate school at the Ohio State University in
autumn 2008, and he is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Biological
Chemistry working under supervision of Dr. Karin Musier-Forsyth.
Lissa Berroa is a second year medical student
at Ponce School of Medicine (PSM). She
earned a B.S. in General Sciences from the
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in
2008. She participated as a PR-LSAMP scholar
and in her junior year, she participated in
Research in Science and Engineering (RISE) at
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New
Jersey, working with bacterial signal transduction. In 2008, while
working at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), she was awarded
with the Cancer Research Training Award (CRTA). During her
time at the NCI her contributions to breast cancer susceptibility
project at Thomas Ried’s Laboratory led to various presentations
to NCI colleague.
Neysha Martínez graduated from Pontifical
Catholic University of Puerto Rico in 2007,
obtaining a B.S in General Science. As an
undergraduate she was a PR-LSAMP Scholar.
Neysha won the INRO Internship 2007 where
she was selected to do a 2-year post-bac,
becoming the first participant to conduct
research in both NIH/NIAID branch in Montana
and NIH/NIAID headquarters in Maryland.
Currently she is pursuing an M.Sc in Industrial Pharmacy at
University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus As a graduate
student she has earned the Lilly Fellowship and the Lilly COOP
Internship. She has presented her research in several scientific
forums such as: Excipient Fest and IUPAC.
Raymond Isidro graduated from Pontifical
Catholic University of Puerto Rico in May
2010, obtaining a BS in General Sciences.
Currently, he is a second-year student in
the MD-PhD pilot program at the Ponce
School of Medicine (PSM). As an
undergraduate, he served as a PR-LSAMP
scholar and undergraduate research
student mentor. He has presented his research on the pathogenesis
of colitis-associated colorectal cancer in national meetings including
ABRCMS, where he was awarded a certificate of achievement for
his presentation in cell biology; the AGA section of Digestive
Disease Week and the ASIP 2011 annual meeting at Experimental
Biology. During the summers of 2010 and 2011, he worked at the
Blood-Brain Barrier and Neuro-oncology programs at the Oregon
Health & Science University.
Yainyrette Rivera completed a BS in General
Sciences from Pontifical Catholic University of
Puerto Rico. In 2007 she decided to pursue a Ph.D.
in Biomedical Sciences at the Ponce School of
Medicine and Health Sciences. She has presented
her work in different meetings including: ABRCMS,
the 27th Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference,
and the Society for Neuro Immune Pharmacology.
She has been awarded with important pre-doctoral
fellowships for her outstanding career including
MBRS-RISE and PRAABRE (Puerto Rico Alliance
for the Advancement in Biomedical Research
Excellence). Her thesis project investigates how depression
management increases treatment adherence and improves
immune system function in HIV-1 infected Puerto Ricans.
Noel Cruz graduated in 2006 from
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto
Rico (PCUPR) obtaining a BS in Biology
with a Minor in Chemistry. As an
undergraduate student, he participated
for three consecutively years as a
research student with the PR-LSAMP
Program at PCUPR. During summer
2005, he participated in the Integrated Biological Sciences
Research Program (IBS-SRP) at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison. On 2009, he obtained his MS in Cell and Molecular
Biology from the San Francisco State University. Currently, Noel is
working as Staff Research Associate I in the Department of Cell &
Tissue Biology at the University of California, San Francisco.
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