Aileen Fernandez

Role: Professional Development Committee Member & CTL Liaison

Biography:

Aileen I Fernandez is a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Dr. David Rimm in Yale School of Medicine’s Pathology department. Her current research in oncology focuses on identifying and developing biomarkers to better identify which patients with cancer will respond to different cancer treatments, improving patient care. 

Aileen completed her PhD in the Tumor Biology training program at Georgetown University (GU) in 2019. While there she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Rebecca B. Riggins and focused on triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive breast cancer subtype that disproportionally affects African-American women and lacks targeted therapies. While at GU, Aileen co-founded the Women in Science and Education (WISE) group with her colleagues, serving as the group’s strategist, secretary, and diversity liaison. She also was a member and chaired the tumor biology social committee during her tenure as a predoctoral student.

Aileen is passionate about leveling accessibility in science and promoting diversity and inclusion. She also strongly believes in improving science communication to better disseminate information from the scientists’ bench to society. In her free time she loves to spend time with friends and family and to try new workouts.