Valeria Sanabria, MD, a PhD student at UMass Chan Medical School, has received the Zelda Haidak Scholarship in Cell Biology from the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Gerald Haidak, MD, professor of surgery and cell biology at UMass Chan and associate dean for special projects, founded the scholarship before his death to memorialize his wife, Zelda Haidak, and to improve training for women beginning research careers in cell biology.
“I’m really honored to have won this scholarship. The fact that it exists to support female researchers in science is important,” said Dr. Sanabria. “I believe we need to have more female faculty and more women in decision-making roles. I’d like to help make room for more women to be part of research and decision making.”
Sanabria grew up in Argentina and studied medicine at the University of Buenos Aires before opting for a PhD at UMass Chan rather than a residency program after medical school. Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences was chosen for its umbrella route concept, which permits scientists to cycle between three different labs throughout their first year of the PhD program. Sanabria began her research in the lab of Hyun Youk, PhD, associate professor of systems biology, and is now working in the lab of Athma A. Pai, PhD, assistant professor of RNA therapeutics.
“My main focus is understanding at the transcriptional level how genes are expressed and how that helps cells survive in different environments,” she said.
Sanabria enjoys watching things grow, which is why she has “1,000 different house plants.” She enjoys roller skating while she is not in the lab. She intends to use the scholarship funds to attend conferences, get networking experience, and take more classes to gain a broader understanding.