Mentoring young scientists
In the EcoBioMaterials Design Lab, we strive to coach students toward professional success by challenging them to meet their goals and reflect on their failures and successes.
High school students
From firsthand experience I recognized the value of getting into the lab as a high school student from his own firsthand experience. As a junior in high school, I began my research career at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Dr. Christopher Reddy’s Lab in the Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry. That’s why, I joined the University of Florida Student Science Training Program (SSTP) as a graduate student mentor. Over the course of the 10-week program, I mentored high school junior Anastacia van Gent. She substantially contributed to my research efforts on NACC biomaterials leading her to be a contributing author to our publication.
Undergraduate students
I have mentored over 18 undergraduates in his career so far. I guided them in laboratory practices, writing skills, field work, and the responsible conduct of research. I initiated student research blog posts and research experience videos for my mentees to show off their work. Several of my undergraduate mentees have been contributing authors to publications including Sophia Saenz, Nicolas Montoya, Paxton Guerin, and Minh-Tam Nguyen. Three of my mentees (Nicolas Montoya, Sophia Saenz, and Paxton Guerin) have been accepted into the prestigious and selective University of Florida University Scholars Program to support their research endeavors. Under my tutelage, Sophia Saenz received a 2021 Cato T. Laurencin Travel Fellowship from the Society For Biomaterials. Another mentee, Jeffrey Butler was named a 2019 Petit Scholar at Georgia Tech. I takes great pride in seeing my mentees succeed, grow professionally, and attain recognition for their hard work.
Graduate students
While being a senior graduate student in the Allen Research Group, I took on a peer mentoring role for the junior graduate students in the lab as well as those in neighboring and collaborating research groups. As the 2019-2021 President of the University of Florida Student Chapter of the Society For Biomaterials, I organized and hosted professional development workshops focused on resume help and graduate school information. I presented and created a How To Have a Successful PhD cheat sheet to help graduate students in my program and beyond navigate the Ph.D. experience.