The underrepresentation of minorities is a persistent problem in academia, with the greatest disparity in engineering and the sciences. There are multiple reasons for this underrepresentation, but the most effective suggestion to solve this problem is elegant and simple: strong mentoring is the key to increasing diversity in STEM. Effective mentoring involves both intellectual input from a mentor with similar background and experiences, and exposure to cutting-edge science that will makes students competitive in the future. The young scientists in our lab, including undergraduate researchers, are involved in every step of the scientific process. Thus, one of the main goals of our lab is to mentor peers and students of diverse backgrounds so they can achieve successful careers in STEM.

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Floria serves as a faculty advisor for our UR SACNAS Chapter. Please reach out if you have any questions!

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Flo gave a talk at the Graduate Women in Science seminar series. GWIS provides mentoring for the professional and personal development of all graduates (inclusive of all genders) at the University of Rochester Medical Center and College of Arts and Sciences. ____________

Flo and undergraduate student, Alexis Cambridge, observing leaf-mining insects during the 2019 Solomon Islands field course.

Krisha Patel, an undergraduate Honors student, works with Flo on the evolution of crypsis in ghost crabs of the Solomon Islands. Krisha explored how individuals can alter their color to effectively match with the visual background to avoid detection by predators.

The University of Rochester  has its newly formed SACNAS Chapter! I recently gave a talk about my trajectory in STEM. 

More info about our local chapter at @URSacnas

Stay tuned for more updates from our team!