Person with glasses standing in lab

Manuel A. Ortega

MSRP 2009 ● University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez ’10 ● PhD ’15 in Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ● Postdoctoral Merck Fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation, MIT (Drennan Lab)

My favorite part of MSRP was connecting with other students also looking to enhance their scientific skills. We made an incredible bond and I still keep in touch with a couple of them. Performing research at MIT was an exceptional experience that boosted my confidence as a scientist. I experienced what it was like to do research in cell and developmental biology, and it gave me the confidence to explore other research areas like biochemistry — the subject I ended up pursuing in graduate school.