Ciencia Boricua Profiles

Every month we profile the work of an outstanding CienciaPR member or discuss a topic of relevance to our community

Una década transformando juntos la ciencia en Puerto Rico

Mónica Ivelisse Feliú-Mójer's picture

Este año estamos celebrando una década promocionando la ciencia y la investigación en Puerto Rico. Mediante nuestros programas e iniciativas, hemos transformado la forma en que la ciencia y los científicos son presentados en los medios de comunicación. Hemos creado miles de recursos para hacer la ciencia relevante a la realidad y la cultura de los estudiantes en nuestros salones de clase. Hemos establecido programas que fomentan el desarrollo de la próxima generación de científicos e innovadores de Puerto Rico.

Dr. Idhaliz Flores Caldera: educator, researcher and a pioneer of endometriosis research in Puerto Rico

Lumarie Pérez-Guzmán's picture
Dr. Idhaliz Flores Caldera
Dr. Idhaliz Flores Caldera

Endometriosis is a painful disorder in which the endometrium, the tissue that lines the uterus, grows outside of it.  This generally occurs in the linings of the abdomen and pelvic cavity.  Its main symptom is pain during menstruation, also known as dysmenorrhea.  Other symptoms include chronic pelvic pain and infertility.  Worldwide, it is estimated that 1 in every 10 women of reproductive age is affected by endometriosis including approximately 9 million women in the United States, and 50 thousand in Puerto Rico. 

Marcel Agüeros: The junction of world-class astronomy and passion for diversity

Elizabeth Padilla-Crespo's picture
Dr. Marcel Agüeros
Dr. Marcel Agüeros

It’s that time of the year again: the smell of charcoal, children gleefully splashing water at the beach, frozen lemonades, and endless warm nights staring at the mystifying skies… Did you know that some of the stars you see are bigger and brighter than our sun? That some of them don't exist anymore since their light travels millions of years to reach us?  Astronomy, one of the oldest sciences, helps us understand objects and matter outside the Earth's atmosphere—stars, planets, comets, galaxies and black holes—and their physical and chemical properties. 

Dr. Marcel Agüeros has made astronomy his life's work and passion. 

His Astronomical Journey

Valerie Wojna: Finding Healthcare Alternatives for HIV-Positive Women

Mónica Ivelisse Feliú-Mójer's picture
Valerie Vojna y sus colegas
Dr. Valerie Wojna, center, with her NeuroAIDS Program colleagues.

Great advances in the management, prevention and treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have significantly reduced the mortality caused by this infection. However, the stigma around the disease remains, so there are groups of patients who are discriminated against when receiving medical care. Dr. Valerie Wojna, professor at the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico (MSC-UPR), seeks to improve the quality of life of one of these underserved groups: women with HIV.

Rodolfo Romañach: Improving production of pharmaceutical and food products through scientific research

Lorraine Doralys Rodriguez-Rivera's picture
Dr. Rodolfo Romañach

To produce drugs and foods in a safe and efficient manner is an important and complex task. Food and pharmaceutical companies are actively trying to improve their processes in order to prevent drugs that were not manufactured properly, and unsafe foods to reach the consumers. Scientists like Dr. Rodolfo Romañach use research and innovation to tackle these challenges.

James Ayala González: The Panda “Whisperer”

Wilson Gonzalez-Espada's picture
James Ayala González
James Ayala González con un panda rojo

Por Dr. Wilson Gonzalez-Espada, Ciencia Puerto Rico


A well-known mathematics postulate states that: “Through any two points, there is exactly one straight line." Our reality, of course, is much more complicated than that. The life journey of a person is more like the curvy roads of PR-1, or “La Piquiña.”

A perfect example of this is scientist James Ayala González, who started his professional life as a jazz musician and today is a behavioral researcher at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan Province, Peoples Republic of China.

Illuminating science: Promoting the field of photonics in Puerto Rico

Luis Cedeno's picture
Dr. Jonathan Friedman

For one thousand years, we humans have been fascinated by light and by harnessing its power to develop new technologies. Light and optics are the basis of some the most important technologies of our time—from lasers, to fiber optics and telecommunications; from technologies to explore the cosmos, to applications to explore the world on a microscopic or even nanoscopic scale.  In honor of such an important area of research and knowledge, the year 2015 was proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL).

Ana Helvia Quintero: A Borinqueña that has re-invented math education

Luis Enrique Valentín Alvarado's picture
Dr. Ana Helvia Quintero

In November 2013 we launched our Borinqueña initiative to broaden the discussion about women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and promote the participation of women in these disciplines and careers where they have traditionally been underrepresented. On our second Borinqueña anniversary, we dedicate our monthly story to Dr. Ana Helvia Quintero, a math loving Borinqueña, educator by vocation and profession that has fought (as a professor, researcher and within the sphere of public policy) so that our young people have access to the world of mathematics.

Graciela Candelas: science, art, and the art of teaching science

Lumarie Pérez-Guzmán's picture
Dr. Graciela Candelas
Dr. Graciela Candelas

Puerto Rico is well known, globally, as a leader in biosciences.  This is mostly due because we train and educate professionals of the highest caliber in these disciplines.  For this, we have to thank Dr. Graciela Candelas, a professor and pioneer researcher who revolutionized biology education in Puerto Rico.

Graciela Candelas was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico in 1922.  She received motivation to study sciences from her father, Teobaldo Casanova, a statistical psychologist.  He encouraged Graciela and her sisters to pursue careers in science because “they could learn the humanities at home”.

Becoming a pioneer

Daniel Colón-Ramos: studying and building connections

Mónica Ivelisse Feliú-Mójer's picture
Dr. Daniel Colón Ramos
Dr. Daniel Colón Ramos

You could say that the life of Dr. Daniel Colón-Ramos is one big game of connect-the-dots. A native of Palo Hincado in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, and now associate professor at Yale University, Daniel investigates how neurons make connections to form a functional nervous system.

Dr. Colón-Ramos has taken the lessons he’s learned about connectivity and applied them beyond the bench, finding ways to link two of his loves: science and Puerto Rico. 

Homeland connection

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