Hello! My name is María Nguyễn (they/them).

I am the first in my family who made it past primary education. After graduating from high school, I felt the need to give back to underserved communities similar to the ones I come from. I followed my interest in high school, where I founded and lead a tutoring program in addition to numerous other science and community service-based organizations, and decided to teach in underserved schools in Chicago. I am passionate about science outreach, equity, and inclusion and strive to continue my work in DEI.

After my community service, I pursued higher education at the University of California, Berkeley, where I earned a simultaneous degree in Microbial Biology, B.S. and Molecular and Cell Biology, B.A. with a concentration in Biochemistry.

I am #firstgen all around!

I have an interest in elucidating unknown molecular mechanisms. Currently, I am a Cell, Molecular, and Organismal Biology (CMOB) PhD student in the FUNR Lab, where I am studying the role of tyrosine kinases in the closest living unicellular relatives of animals.