This awakened an interest in genetics that led her to immerse herself in her genetic panel results, curious about the role of each gene that was tested.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI realized I wanted to find out how mutations affect gene expression that could possibly lead to a distinct phenotype or even a genetic syndrome,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Within a few years of setting her sights on becoming a scientist, Camacho-Badillo began her first research experience working in the laboratory of <\/span>Professors Hector Areizaga-Mart\u00ednez<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Elddie Rom\u00e1n-Morales<\/span><\/a>. Her work focused on experiments using enzymes to degrade Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, or DDT, a once-common pesticide known to be highly toxic to humans and other mammals that remains in the environment long after application to crops.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As she became familiar with the day-to-day routines of designing and executing research experiments, she realized she was drawn to biochemistry and molecular biology. Camacho-Badillo soon applied to the molecular neuroscience lab of Professor Miguel M\u00e9ndez at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla and joined their team working on the effects of high glucose in the central nervous system of mice.<\/span><\/p>\n When Camacho-Badillo was sixteen, alongside M\u00e9ndez and other students, she participated in the <\/span>Quantitative Methods Workshop<\/span><\/a> at MIT. The workshop allows undergraduate students from universities around the United States and the Caribbean to come together for a few days in January to learn how to apply computational tools that can help biological research.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the sessions she attended was a talk about machine learning and studying the brain, presented by graduate student Taylor Baum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI loved Taylor\u2019s workshop,\u201d Camacho-Badillo said, \u201cWhen Taylor asked if anyone would be interested in volunteering to teach Spanish-speaking students in grade school science, I said yes without hesitation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Baum, a neuroscientist and computer scientist working in the <\/span>Munther Dahleh Research Group<\/span><\/a> at MIT, is also the founder of <\/span>Sprouting<\/span><\/a>, Inc.<\/span> The organization equips high-school students and undergraduates in Puerto Rico with STEM skills to help them pursue careers in science and technology.<\/span><\/p>\n After participating in QMW, it wasn\u2019t long before Camacho-Badillo was back at MIT. She participated in the <\/span>Bernard S. and Sophie G. Gould MIT Summer Research Program in Biology<\/span><\/a> in 2023 and worked in the <\/span>Yamashita Lab<\/span><\/a>, studying two phenotypes of genetic mutations associated with cancer during cell division.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nExpanding Experiences While Narrowing Focus<\/span><\/h2>\n
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