🐦 Winging It with GAJ 🌱 - Who Am I ??? 🤔 Part 2
Posted on: 12/29/2025
As the first-born and feminine-presenting child of Latin American immigrants, I was motivated to surpass my parents' high expectations so that their sacrifices would not be in vain. During my sophomore year of university, an undergraduate research program became my refuge when I spent a summer conducting fieldwork at Mono Lake, California. We measured the degree of sexual dimorphism in the socially polyandrous spotted sandpiper under the guidance of Dr. Sara E. Lipshutz and her collaborators from the University of California, Davis. I learned a great deal academically, such as how to band birds, locate their nests, capture them with mist nets, and take blood samples. Most importantly, I learned how to take advantage of the privilege of being a college student to define my own career path and passions without my parents’ influence. After working as a field technician, I continued my involvement in the Lipshutz lab by picking up an independent research project. I loved engaging with all aspects of the research, from the elbow-deep-in-dirt fieldwork to the meticulousness of wet-lab experiments to the frustrations of simple syntax coding mistakes. It satisfies my urges to play in the mud, be in situations where being a perfectionist is actually helpful, and solve complicated puzzles. I was amazed that my professor not only traveled to wonderful places and immersed herself in her research, but was also committed to making an impact in both her scientific field and society as a whole. As a latine, I have always wanted to make an impact on my community through my career, but I struggled to figure out exactly how to do so. After this experience, I began brainstorming research interests to pursue this value 💪🏼.
Taking a gap year has provided me with more impactful experiences that have helped me refine my research interests. As a research assistant at Michigan State University, working with Dr. Grace Smith-Vidaurre, I have gained firsthand insights into what a career in academia entails. I mentor undergrads, support existing projects, craft my own research questions, and attend departmental seminars. At one of these seminars, Dr. Amanda Rodewald from Cornell University highlighted how artificial intelligence would be instrumental in mitigating biases for biodiversity and conservation research. During the reception afterwards, she enlightened me about a sampling bias that negatively affects Central America due to language and funding barriers. The models are less accurate due to the disparity between the availability of biodiversity data and the known locations of hotspots. This, along with my heritage and my personal desire to positively impact my latine community, has inspired me to focus on Central America for my research. I believe I am in a pivotal position to make the Spanish publications accessible, as I can read them, feature their existing work, and collaborate with them in my future projects. As a future disease modeler, my identity motivates me to address disparities by highlighting the work of Central American scientists and by publishing papers in both English and Spanish 🧑🏻🔬.
I am highly motivated to pursue a PhD in 🦠 Disease Ecology 🌎. I look forward to emphasizing the importance of environmental health in our lives and using the One Health approach in my research. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are always interacting with our environment; it is a part of us as much as we are a part of it. Through my future research, I aim to highlight the responsibility to protect our environment. This field is another complex puzzle that I have become obsessed with trying to decipher. Each piece is an intricate web of interactions among microorganisms, arthropods, animals, humans, and other organisms. The wide variety of methodologies in this field excites me. I am most excited to get my hands dirty collecting field data, understanding my target pathogen at the microscopic level, and generating models that simulate its transmission ✨.
Pursuing a PhD would enable me to become an infectious disease modeler who can assess spillover/pandemic risk, raise awareness of ecological issues, and address health disparities that affect families like mine.
Next week: Grad Apps 2025 😭
Let's reflect on my graduate school application process 🥲