MARIELLA SOTO

Graduation Year: Fall 2021
Major: Biological Science
Thesis Title: Investigating Strategies to Increase Knock In Efficiency in Human Embryonic Stem Cells Through CRISPR Protein Engineering (Link Coming Soon)
Thesis Director: Dr. Hong Li, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Plans after graduation: Mariella will be employed at the San Diego Biomedical Research Institute as a Laboratory Technician.

Highlight a positive and potentially life changing experience in Honors at FSU in which you have engaged.

"Being able to participate in the Honors in the Major program and present my work allowed me to confirm that I wanted a career in biomedical research and provided a clearer picture for what I wished to achieve in my future. The academic freedom to study a topic I was incredibly interested in and had potentially large medical implications was invigorating and made working on the project wildly exciting. At the end of those quickly moving two semesters, the chance to present the research I had worked so hard on was deeply impactful. The rush of presenting followed by the sheer joy and pride of passing solidified the idea that I wanted to do research as a career and sparked the idea that maybe I wanted to be a professor as well. The experience has made me more excited and better prepared for what my future in biomedical research holds." - Mariella Soto

What was most gratifying or memorable about working with this student?

"The most gratifying aspect of working with Mari was to see the growth in her. The work of honors thesis requires not only devotion of time but also intense curiosity about science. I saw the excitement in Mari when the experiments yielded satisfying results. It was a pleasure to read the well-argued thesis from the budding scientist!" - Dr. Hong Li