Latin American Microscopists – Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s geographical topography is paramount to the Latin American country’s importance in the scientific world. Being an island, the country exhibits species endemic to the nation, which allows for a multitude of unique flora and fauna. While only boasting a small number of institutions due to the limited size of the island nation, Puerto Rico takes pride in upholding its high standard of STEM teaching. From institutions such as the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez, to Ponce Health Sciences University, students relish in the satisfaction of Puerto Rican teaching. One such graduate, Maribel Torres Velázquez, experienced firsthand the opportunities that arose from her Latin American scientific background. In this blog, we hear the details of Maribel’s background as an engineer and her transition into a biomedical engineer, which allowed her to experience Puerto Rico’s highly impressive biological prowess. Maribel details her adversity facing gendered stereotypes in STEM and her Puerto Rican heritage.