Yanixa Quiñones Avilés

Yanixa is a Genetics PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Mandar Muzumdar. She was awarded the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F31 pre-doctoral fellowship to support her thesis work, which investigates the molecular and phenotypical differences of KRAS variants in pancreatic cancer through a multi-omics approach. She obtained her Bachelors of Science degree in Biology with an emphasis in Genetics and Biomedicine from the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla.

As a prior recipient of the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F31 pre-doctoral fellowship, Yanixa currently serves as a Graduate Writing Lab (GWL) fellow at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, where she helps fellow graduate students navigate the fellowship application process. Her passion for providing equal access to health care and education, outreach and mentoring has driven her involvement with non-profit organizations such as HAVEN Free Clinic, New Haven Science Fair Program, and multiple student-led mentoring programs focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM fields.