Rebecca Isabel Colón Ríos

Rebecca I. Colón Ríos (she/her) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where she majored in Industrial Microbiology. In her home institution, she worked on screening for pathogenic aerosols in the biology department and identifying environmental fungal interactions with bromeliads.

Now, Rebecca is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate and NIAID F31 Fellow in the Microbiology Track of the BBS program. In Dr. Barbara Kazmierczak’s lab, she’s studying Acanthamoeba castellanii - Pseudomonas aeruginosa interactions. Rebecca strives to increase the representation of underrepresented scientists by organizing recruitment efforts as the Chair of the YBDIC Engagement Branch. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys making pottery and baking.