Position Title
2026-2027
Kerlanys Y. Fuentes-Torres is a senior at Universidad Ana G. Méndez in Carolina, Puerto Rico, pursuing a Bachelor's in Biology. Passionate about developing more skills in research, she is currently a part of Dr. Loyda B. Méndez-Torres' lab, where she works under post-doc fellow, Dr. Alexis E. Santana-Cruz, in the morphometric characterization of Drosophila melanogaster's third instar larvae tracheal system. All of her life, she has cultivated a strong curiosity for the inner workings of the world, which has led her to want to pursue a combined degree (MD-PhD) and translate data from the lab bench to real-life applications. To aid in her journey, she seeks to grasp onto any opportunity that will enable her to grow professionally and academically. As a testament to her pursuit of growth, she has participated as a member of student associations in her home institution, as well as other programs like research opportunities and even SOT’s Undergraduate Development Program. Some of her research interests revolve around immunology, diseases, and epidemiology; however, she considers herself a flexible and eager-to-learn person willing to discover new topics. For this reason, becoming an MSDT-One Health mentee aligns with her goals in wanting to expand her horizons and learn more about the scientific world. She firmly believes that, in order to pinpoint your interests and narrow down your path for the future, diversifying yourself is needed. By the end of the MSDT-One Health program, she has hopes of being able to apply her newly gained One Health knowledge into her fields of interest and be able to foster relationships with fellow peers and mentors through networking.
Mentors:
Alexandra Noël
Ashley Morgan