Research Experience

Fall 2017 – May 2018

HOUSTON Academy Program

Undergraduate research assistant

I received a $3,000 scholarship to support my academic work during my internship. During this internship, I volunteered with the Houston Food Bank and BakerRipley Ripley House after Hurricane Harvey assisting with recovery efforts. I participated in after-school nutrition and diet programs for elementary school children to help them find fun ways to get active and eat nutritious foods. Additionally, I was able to assist in creating two poster presentations shown at community centers in the Houston area to create greater awareness of the importance of healthful eating and making good dietary choices.

Spring 2017 – Fall 2018

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program

Undergraduate Researcher

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) is a full-time, 10-week, research fellowship at the University of Houston. I was given a $3,500 scholarship to conduct research with my faculty mentor. I analyzed links among individual, family, and maternal neighborhood risk and maternal weight. Additionally, I created and presented the accompanying research poster at the University of Houston’s Undergraduate Research Day and contributed to writing the corresponding research article for publication alongside Dr. Daphne Hernandez.

Spring 2016 – Winter 2016

Nutrition and Health Behaviors Internship

Undergraduate Research Assistant

In this internship, I assisted with collecting body composition and other anthropometric measures in elementary school children to monitor weight changes through the academic school year. This data was then used to facilitate the creation of further scholarly work.

Spring 2016 – Summer 2016

Provost’s Undergraduate Research Program

Undergraduate Research Assistant

The Provost Undergraduate Research Program is intended to assist students in their research pursuits. I received $1,000 in scholarship to support my research. For my project, I designed an online survey through SurveyMonkey for a study on quadriplegic rugby athletes. I collected data on these quadriplegic rugby athletes over a three-day period where I lead a group of interns and was tasked with making sure that all data collections protocols were followed. I subsequently entered the collected data on an excel spreadsheet for analysis.

Spring 2015 – Fall 2015

Baylor College of Medicine Summer Internship

Undergraduate Research Assistant

My internship at Baylor College of Medicine with Dr. Larry Lipshultz allowed me to work alongside clinicians. It allowed me to experience academic medicine, and how to best intertwine clinical practice with research responsibility. During the summer I collected data and assisted in creating a poster presentation that was later presented at the Sexual Medicine Society of North America in 2016.

Fall 2013 – Fall 2015

Texas Obesity Research Center

Undergraduate Research Assistant

At the Texas Obesity Research Center (TORC) I learned about the time and effort needed to produce a piece of academic research. During my time there, I conducted literature reviews, worked with STATA, and have carried out data collection. At TORC I assisted in leading health fairs at community centers and created various pamphlets in Spanish to reach the underserved Hispanic population in Houston, TX. Additionally, I learned how to take measure body fat using a Tanita scale, measuring height with a stadiometer, taking weight measurements, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels.