Diana
Cantu-Melo
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
Major: Biology
Research Interest: Chronic Genetic Diseases
“The unwavering support that CSS provides its students and the strong community are aspects which will help me grow at Carolina.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE CSS PROGRAM AND CAROLINA?
I appreciate the opportunities that both CSS and Carolina provide to students in order to promote greater minority representation in STEM. I admire the camaraderie of the CSS community that fosters changemakers and helps efforts that will amplify the change that we can make scientifically and socially. The unwavering support that CSS provides its students and the strong community are aspects which will help me grow at Carolina.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO EXPERIENCING AT CAROLINA OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS?
I am excited to experience the UNC culture and pride. While I look forward to enriching my intellectual curiosities through scientific research, I am also interested in elevating my artistic pursuits by involving myself in the performing arts.
WHAT RESEARCH TOPIC(S) ARE YOU INTERESTED IN EXPLORING AND WHY?
I intend to support research aimed at analyzing and improving heart health, and becoming a part of CSS will help me join research groups that dedicate themselves to address these challenges. I aim to use these opportunities to potentially develop early prevention strategies and cures for genetic heart conditions. Additionally, I am curious to use genome editing as a method to research how opioid addiction impacts genetic structure and how it impacts the human brain. With the opportunities CSS provides, I aim to develop early identification methods using genomes that can be used to predict the risk of opioid use to help in its prevention or mitigation.
WHAT IS ONE THING YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR FUTURE STEM CAREER?
As a proud Mexican, my work is to not only address scientific dilemmas, but to raise awareness about the underlying racial scientific inequities that affect access to healthcare and adequate treatment for the Hispanic community.