CRISTINA TORRES CABÁN

Cristina Torres Cabán is a PhD candidate in Biological Engineering at MIT. Her research focuses on development of novel optical tools to study neural dynamics. She is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and an Alfred P. Sloan UCEM Scholar. Cristina received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis on Biomedical Sciences, Summa Cum Laude, at the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla. At MIT, she is also co-founder and co-president of the Latinx Graduate Student Association and a Biological Engineering Communication Lab Fellow. She values teaching and mentoring and has worked with several initiatives on campus, including MSRP as a Pod Leader and MISTI as a global teaching lab intern.

• Torres Cabán, C. C., Piatkevich, K., Boyden, E. S. Development of genetically encoded potassium sensors for visualizing neuron activity. Poster presentation at the MIT Dept of Biological Engineering Retreat (2019). Boston, MA.
• Valdés, P. A. Zhao, Y., Torres, C. C. Costa, E. Shah, K., E. A. Chiocca, E.A., Boyden, E.S. Multiplexed Expansion Microscopy in Clinical Specimens of Normal Brains and Gliomas. Poster Presentation at the Society for Neuroscience Meeting (2018). San Diego, CA.
• Torres Cabán, C. C., Doi, A., and Horvitz, R.H. Tissue-specific CRISPR/Cas9 Mutants: A Tool to Study Epigenetics in Stem Cells. Oral presentation at the 253rd American Chemical Society National Meeting (2017). San Francisco, CA.
• Torres Cabán, C. C., Doi, A., and Horvitz, R.H. Tissue-specific CRISPR/Cas9 Mutants: A Tool to Study Epigenetics in Stem Cells. Poster presentation at the MIT Summer Research Programs Poster Session (2016). Cambridge, MA.
• Torres Cabán, C. C., Ibáñez-Ventoso, C., and Driscoll, M. Understanding Aging Biology: The Role of mir-34 in Sarcopenia. Oral presentation at the 251st American Chemical Society National Meeting (2016). San Diego, CA.
• Torres Cabán, C. C., Ibáñez-Ventoso, C., and Driscoll, M. Understanding Aging Biology: The Role of mir-34 in Sarcopenia. Poster presentation at the 39th American Chemical Society Senior Technical Meeting (2015). Ponce, PR.
• Torres Cabán, C. C., Ibáñez-Ventoso, C., and Driscoll, M. Understanding Aging Biology: The Role of mir-34 in Sarcopenia. Poster presentation at the RiSE and REU Rutgers Summer Research Symposium (2015). New Brunswick, NJ.
• Torres Cabán, C. C., Ibáñez-Ventoso, C., and Driscoll, M. Understanding Aging Biology: The Role of mir-34 in Sarcopenia. Oral presentation at the RiSE at Rutgers Summer Program Mini Symposium (2015). New Brunswick, NJ.

• AllBiotech 1 of 100 Leaders in Biotechnology in Latin America Nov 2018
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2018-present
• MIT Lemelson Minority Engineering Presidential Fellowship 2017 – 2018
• Tri-Beta National Biology Honor Society Beta-Mentor Award May 2017