Ana Maria Porras is an American biomedical engineer[1] who is assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Florida[2] and an IF/THEN Ambassador[1] for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Porras has published academic research in the fields of human microbiome, tissue engineering, biomaterials, global health, and infectious disease.[3] She is known for creating crochet versions of micro-organisms as a way of connecting with a wider audience, especially children in her home country of Colombia.[4] A 3-D printed statue of Porras holding several of her crochet creations was included in the IF/THEN exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in March 2022.[citation needed] She was named a UF International Center Global Fellow in 2021, a Cornell Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, 2019-2022 and an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellow, 2015-2016.[citation needed] She co-founded the LatinX in Biomedical Engineering (LatinXinBME)[5] community with Brian Aguado, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California San Diego.[5] Porras was quoted in a 2021 BBC article on the gender differences in the use of professional titles.[6]
Early life and education
editPorras was born in Colombia, and her parents were engineering professors.[7] Porras earned a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from University of Texas in 2011, a Masters of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013 and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "| IF/THEN® Collection". www.ifthencollection.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ "Ana Maria Porras, Ph.D. – J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering". Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ "Ana Maria Porras". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ Wight, Andrew. "How Do You Tell Colombian Kids A Science Yarn? With Crochet!". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ a b Aguado, Brian A.; Porras, Ana M. (December 2020). "Building a virtual community to support and celebrate the success of Latinx scientists". Nature Reviews Materials. 5 (12): 862–864. Bibcode:2020NatRM...5..862A. doi:10.1038/s41578-020-00259-8. ISSN 2058-8437. PMC 7574393. PMID 33101711.
- ^ Ro, Christine. "Why we use women's professional titles less than men's". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ "Postdoc Spotlight: Ana Maria Porras : Graduate School". gradschool.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ Newby, Kara. "ANA MARIA PORRAS". The Works Museum. Retrieved 2022-11-17.