Juan Ibarra

He/Him

I am gay and I am a cancer biology graduate student at The University of Chicago.//

 

I was born and raised in Mexico and migrated to the United States when I was 16-years old. Currently, I am interested in studying the role of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the context of blood and pancreatic cancers. One of my primary career goals is to train and mentor fellow underrepresented minority (URM) students. I am particularly invested in supporting others who struggle with more than one identity. My hope is that my journey and experiences as gay, immigrant, first-generation, and coming from a financially underprivileged household can serve others when it comes to embrace/develop their individual identity(s) as scientists, and also to build the confidence to accept and value themselves. I ultimately aim to help others gain the ability to channel any sense of exclusion and discrimination into courage to push boundaries around them.