Floricel Gonzalez

Major: Microbiology; English

McNair Faculty Mentor: Dr. Anthony Nicola

Research Interests: Host-pathogen interactions; medical microbiology; virology

Research Project Title: Effect of low-pH on attachment of herpes simplex virus

Plans for the Future: Pursue a Ph.D. in Microbiology or related field

Experience and development as a McNair Scholar: Being a part of McNair has not been a walk in the park. I credit the expectations of the course curriculum and of the staff in pushing me to become a better scholar. Thanks to McNair, I was able to get involved in research early. This helped me solidify my future academic and career goals. I have been able to travel to different conferences and present my work to diverse audiences. In result, I have emerged as a more confident and knowledgeable scholar. I feel ready to tackle life in graduate school and beyond. Thank you McNair!