Faviola Sanchez

About

Faviola grew up with a passion for science. This all started while helping her father navigate his health battle, which allowed her to find a profound interest in biology. However, as a first-generation Latina, it was a challenge for her to navigate the unfamiliar territory of college until the summer of 2023. It was there where she participated in the LSAMP-IRES program at Urgench State University in Urgench, Uzbekistan, marking her first research experience. There, she collaborated with undergraduate students from various CSUs and local graduate students on sorghum plant research. Her research focused on testing the impact of salinity concentration on plant growth to aid local farmers in enhancing crop yield. 

Through her coursework and in initial research experience, she found excitement in both fieldwork and laboratory experiments. Particularly, she developed an interest in Dr. Hua's lab at SSU, fascinated by how the research findings could contribute to understanding diseases like cancer. Dr. Hua's lab focuses on exploring the mechanisms involved in the spatial segregation of homologous chromosomes in mitotic cells. Currently, Faviola's research project focuses on zebrafish husbandry and observing the early developmental stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio), aiming to study chromosome organization during the 2-cell to 16-cell stages of development.