Education:
University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras
Cellular and Molecular Biology major
B.S., 2019
MSTP Student Governance:
- Student Advisory Committee, 2023-2025
- Student Admissions and Recruitment Committee, 2023-2025
- JEDI Committee, 2022-2024
- WISM, 2025-2026
Honors & Awards:
- Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows, National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 2026 - 2029
Thesis Advisor: Kristin Hogquist, Ph.D.
Publications
Martinez RJ, Rivera-León AM, Nikolaeva A, Esposito K, Vobořil M, Boorsma Bergerud K, Arroyo M, Nelson AC, Farrar MA, Tracy SI, Reboldi A, Fife BT, Hogquist KA. mTECs and B cells form a thymic microniche associated with B-cell licensing. J Immunol. 2026 Jul 10;215(7):vkag185. doi: 10.1093/jimmun/vkag185.PMID: 42464563
Lakshminarayan K, Urbanski DP, Hunt SL, McCarthy T, Steele MV, Ghimire U, Baig F, Rivera-León AM, Berning MJ, Belhasan D, Schorr EN, Gaugler JE. Caregiving for Older Adults with Hypertension: A Scoping Review. J Appl Gerontol. 2026 Jul 29:7334648261472538. doi: 10.1177/07334648261472538. PMCID: PMC13420025
For work prior to the UMN MSTP:
Pleshinger MJ, Friedrich RM, Hubler Z, Rivera-León AM, Gao F, Yan D, Sax JL, Srinivasan R, Bederman I, Shick HE, Tesar PJ, Adams DJ. Inhibition of SC4MOL and HSD17B7 shifts cellular sterol composition and promotes oligodendrocyte formation. RSC Chem Biol. 2021 Oct 21;3(1):56-68. doi: 10.1039/d1cb00145k. PMCID: PMC8729178
Hubler Z, Friedrich RM, Sax JL, Allimuthu D, Gao F, Rivera-León AM, Pleshinger MJ, Bederman I, Adams DJ. Modulation of lanosterol synthase drives 24,25-epoxysterol synthesis and oligodendrocyte formation. Cell Chem Biol. 2021 Jun 17;28(6):866-875.e5. PMCID: PMC8217109
