[Cristina] is recognized by her mentor for her unsurpassed “intellectual capacity, work ethic and passion for science.”

Cristina Castillo is an outstanding rising scientist and dedicated mentor and educator. Born and raised in Peru, Cristina moved to Arizona with her dad shortly after her high school graduation. Between barriers to medical insurance and separation from her family, the transition was especially difficult, and Cristina found light in science through her role with the nonprofit organization miRcore. 

At miRcore, Cristina quickly became known for her determination and grit as she learned R programming by herself to perform bioinformatics research in big patient datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas. She soon became involved in outreach as well as research and took on a leadership role with the Lab-on-Wheels project, which introduces high school freshmen to basic laboratory techniques and seeks to inspire the next generation of scientists. She also designed and implemented the curriculum of miRcore’s first biotechnology camp and has continued to improve the program. Over her time at miRcore so far, she has mentored more than 1,500 students. The president of miRcore remarks that Cristina “will be a leader and strong advocate in making quality biotechnology education available to many, especially among underrepresented minorities.”

For the past six years, Cristina has also worked at Dr. Yatrik Shah’s lab within University of Michigan Molecular and Integrative Physiology and studied iron metabolism. She is recognized by her mentor for her unsurpassed “intellectual capacity, work ethic and passion for science.”

Now, Cristina is continuing her work at the lab while earning her bachelor’s degree in biophysics and biochemistry at U-M. Ultimately, she plans to become a physician-scientist and use her research to develop better treatments for anemia and other iron disorders. Cristina also hopes to create an infrastructure for research in Peru and provide talented Peruvian citizens with the opportunity to develop solutions to the challenges they face. 

CEW+ applauds Cristina’s resilience and vision for her research and names her an Irma M. Wyman Scholar.