AWIS Member Spotlight

Ariana Fonseca

Graduate Student
The Scripps Research Institute
AWIS member since 2024

“Mentorship is important to me.”

What do you consider to be your most important career achievement or milestone?

Thus far my most important milestone has been being accepted as a graduate student at The Scripps Research Institute.

What do you aspire to accomplish in your career and why? What obstacles will you overcome?

I hope to earn my Ph.D. in Biological Sciences and become a mentor for the next generation of scientists. Mentorship is super important to me because it was through the help of my mentorship network that I stand where I am today.

How was AWIS helped you professionally and/or personally?

AWIS has connected me with brilliant women both in industry and in academia who are looking to enrich their professional development. I have met many good friends and mentors through AWIS.

What is your favorite word? (only one word)

Resilience.

How do you define it?

Being able to overcome difficulties by working through them. It is being able to cope and bounce back even after facing difficult situations. I try to live my life with resilience in mind. It is important to not let mistakes and setbacks define you, and instead let how you learn from and overcome these challenges shape your perception of yourself. It can be so easy to let mistakes and setbacks consume you which is why it is important to remain resilient and allow yourself to see the strength in overcoming.

What do you consider the best professional or personal advice you’ve ever received?

One of the best professional advice (which can also be applied as personal advice) was from my mentor Shanna Lavalle, PhD, who is also a member of AWIS San Diego. My first research experience was working alongside Shanna in the McVicker lab at the Salk. One of the first things I learned from Shanna was that in doing science there will always be failures. Things may not work right the first time, but it is important to understand that it is normal, and even in failure we learn something. Sure enough, during my time in the lab I experienced many successful experiments but also a lot of failed experiments. I learned to view each failure as an opportunity to learn, to optimize, and to think outside the box. Shanna and I worked together to brainstorm new approaches, pinpoint potential errors, and test out new methods for each project that I had the opportunity to work on. This mentality is something that I also try to implement in my own life, not just in the professional setting. It has helped me tremendously in being resilient and carving out the best potential in myself.

What are you currently reading or listening to?

Recently I have been obsessed with the song Neva Play by Megan Thee Stallion featuring RM of BTS.

Ariana Fonseca is currently a first year graduate student at The Scripps Research Institute. She graduated from the University of California San Diego with a degree in Neurobiology and was a Research Assistant at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for two years. She worked in the lab of Graham McVicker, PhD, alongside her mentor, Shanna Lavalle, PhD. There she helped to develop reporter assays to measure the effects genetic variants have on gene expression.

Would you like to be featured?

AWIS Members can submit a member spotlight at any time! We’d love to learn more about your journey and accomplishments.