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Jeanmarie Gonzalez

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Jeanmarie Gonzalez is finishing the fifth year of her PhD in the biomedical science program at the University of California, San Francisco. Her thesis work focuses on understanding how disrupting skin barrier physiology changes how the immune system responds to commensal bacteria of the skin.

APS Porter Physiology Development Fellowship is one of the Society’s flagship award programs, highlighting scientific excellence in researchers from underrepresented backgrounds. We asked our Porter Fellows to tell us about their research, the impact of the Fellowship and their advice to other underrepresented scientists. Here, Jeanmarie Gonzalez, one of our esteemed Porter Fellows in her second year of the Fellowship, shares more about her background and words of wisdom.

What's your background? Are others in your family involved in science and medicine or are you a trailblazer in STEM?

My parents always prioritized education, but neither they nor anyone in my large extended family (aunts, uncles, etc.) were involved in science or medicine, so I had to find external role models in college. My father is in computer science, but nothing close to my work. 

What is your advice to young people from underrepresented backgrounds interested in getting into science?

My advice would be to not just focus on the science, but to also be sure to seek out good mentors and collaborators who will support you every step of the way.