Esmerelda “Esme” Ruiz-Garcia grew up in California in a Mexican-American family, where pursuing a career in healthcare is considered a family calling. Most of her relatives are in the nursing and medical fields.

“I’ve always loved science, but I was not that interested in the medical field itself,” said Esme.

Now, she’s a student intern in the CIRM-funded Bridges program at California State University (CSU), San Bernardino.

A Pivot to Research 

As the first in her family to attend college, Esme thought she’d be a nurse. But she quickly realized that path wasn’t for her. After time at the University of California, Riverside, and then community college, she found herself at CSU San Bernardino. In San Bernardino she connected with Nicole Bournias-Vardiabasis, PhD, who introduced her to the world of biomedical research.

“She opened up a new route for me, something I had not considered possible,” Esme said.

Esme worked in the Bournias-Vardiabasis lab on a project studying the genetic underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease. That experience launched her into a year-long CIRM-funded internship and ultimately a PhD program at UC Riverside.

“I never imagined myself being in this position of being a scientist and being an engineer,” she said. “I had heard of scientists, but I had heard of it through TVs and movies. I had never actually known what they do. I didn’t even know it was a possibility to enter this field.” 

Leaving the comfort zone

While in the CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research program, Esme worked at UC Riverside in the bioengineering lab of Huinan Liu, PhD. Liu’s work focuses on engineering novel biodegradable materials and nanostructured interfaces for controlling cellular functions. The goal of is work is improve tissue regeneration and reducing infections.

The Bridges program provides undergraduate and graduate students experiences in stem cell labs that they might not have access to otherwise. These students create a workforce for California’s expanding public and private stem cell research labs. In some cases, students go on to engage in research themselves as PhD students.

“Coming from a biology major and going into a bioengineering laboratory was extremely difficult,” Esme said. “It was a huge transition. I didn’t really understand what I was getting myself into. But I’m forever and eternally grateful that I gave myself the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone.”

It turns out bioengineering became a new comfort zone. “I fell in love with engineering,” she said.

Based on that experience, she decided to join the UC Riverside lab of Ke Du, PhD. She is now in her second year working for Du, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering for a PhD program.

“I’m eternally grateful because it isn’t a one-way road,” Esme said. “There are thousands of roads that I can take within this field that will all lead me toward a successful life. They will all lead me toward helping others.”

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Written by guest contributor Amy Adams