Mentor: Colin Florian (Dougherty Lab)

Shirley Lopez De Leon is a rising senior at Washington University in St. Louis, studying biology, anthropology: global health and Environment, and Spanish on the pre-medical track. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, to Guatemalan immigrants, Shirley hopes to pursue a career in medicine and is passionate about mitigating health disparities in disadvantaged communities through healthcare, biomedical research and social advocacy.

Shirley joined the Dougherty Lab in the fall of 2022 and is currently working with graduate student Colin Florian to study the gene MYT1L and how it regulates gene expression in autism. As a first-generation Latine in STEM, Shirley wishes to apply her love for learning and her deep interest in the biological sciences to further gain invaluable research experience through the SURFiN program.