Alyssa Mitson-Salazar

Originally from the rural farming town of Manassa, Colorado, Alyssa’s not quite sure how she ended up at Yale for undergrad. After adjusting to *the city* and *the East Coast*, she decided to study biology. Thanks to a program similar to BioMed SURF she spent three years in a lab studying DNA damage repair. Outside of science she choreographed for her dance group, tutored biology, and was a Freshmen Counselor. Although she knew she loved science, Alyssa was unsure whether to pursue a PhD, MD, or MD/PhD when she graduated. She consequently decided to spend two years working as an IRTA postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health, where she studied human Th2 cells in allergic disease. Alyssa’s experiences at the NIH not only confirmed her desire to pursue an MD/PhD, but also fostered her love for the immune system. She is now a fourth-year MD/PhD student in the Medzhitov laboratory, studying the initiation and regulation of Allergic inflammation. Outside of science, Alyssa enjoys dancing, eating tacos, hiking Connecticut state parks, and playing with her two cats.