Darielys Mejias-Morales
-Scholar-
Cohort: 2017-2018
Faculty Mentor: Christina Salas
Department: Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation
Home Institution: Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Research Interests: Orthopaedics Biochanics & Biomaterials Laboratory
Scholar Description
I recently graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and a minor concentration in Mathematics. My first research experience was in 2015 through the Amgen Scholars Summer Internship at Washington University in St. Louis. I worked in a biomedical engineering laboratory in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, studying the mechanisms involved in the initiation of disc degeneration. Thereafter, my interest in research increased, and in August 2015, I begin working as a volunteer in a biochemistry laboratory at Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico. I worked on different projects examining the molecular mechanisms of metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer. Currently, I am working as a PREP scholar in Dr. Christina Salas’ laboratory at The University of New Mexico. Throughout this year, I will be contributing in the design and 3D printing of prosthetic hands and biomaterials. 
