As part of the 10th-anniversary celebration of Ciencia Puerto Rico, we have been collecting anecdotes from our volunteers to celebrate them and the work they do. We also want to share with you the team's vision for CienciaPR.

Today we will share the story of Marla S. Rivera-Oliver from Arecibo.  She has been a volunteer with CienciaPR for a year and a half.

- How did you hear about CienciaPR?  

I've always been aware of science in Puerto Rico. During an internet search, I discovered CienciaPR back when it was just starting.  I created my account then and I have been aware of all the news that have been published since.

Marla Rivera-Oliver, a graduate student at the Institute of Neurobiology of the University of Puerto Rico, was selected to present her research in the oral Neuroscience session at the Southeast Regional IDeA conference in Biloxi, MS (Nov 11-13, 2015). Marla’s presentation, "The Modulatory Effects of Caffeine on the Intrinsic Properties of Spinal Lateral Motoneurons", a collaboration with Yocasta Alvarez-Bagnarol and her research mentor Dr. Manuel Diaz-Rios, received a commemorative certificate and a $500 award. She was the only neuroscience graduate student to be selected for an oral presentation. 

We are proud of Marla, who is also a volunteer with CienciaPR. Congratulations!

Puerto Rican science was well represented in the annual conference of the Society for Neuroscience (SFN) recently held in Chicago, IL.  More than a hundred Puerto Ricans represented us in different sub-disciplines of neuroscience. This is the largest neuroscience conference worldwide, with more than 30,000 participants representing more than 80 countries. The event provides an ideal environment for the dissemination of recent scientific findings and to promote collaboration between scientists and help in the development of tools and ideas to advance neuroscience research.

Un bembé boricua:  PR Social PR 2015