Meet Rosa Selenia Guerra-Resendez. Guerra-Resendez is a fifth year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology at Rice University. Guerra-Resendez is from Mexico and is a Rice Graduate Ambassador. Ambassadors are students who represent the university and help prospective students gain knowledge of student life as a graduate student at Rice.
Guerra-Resendez chose Rice as a graduate school because of her interest in synthetic biology. Her research focuses on identifying ways to get sick cells to behave as healthy cells using molecular tools that she designed in her lab.
When she is not conducting research, she is serving in various leadership roles within the Rice community. She is a part of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), Systems, Synthetic, & Physical Biology Graduate Student Association (SSPB GSA), Latin American Graduate Student Association (LAGSA), Fulbrighters@Rice, and the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's Innovation Fellows on campus.
Guerra-Resendez advises prospective students to reach out to potential advisors and current graduate students to get more insight on the school and program.
“Do not go only by the prestige of the university; talk to the current graduate students and see their behavior,” said Guerra-Resendez. “This will let you know your future in that program and institution.”
Guerra-Resendez advises current students to find them a community that will provide encouragement and all of the necessary support they will need.
“Have a good support network to get through grad school, and do not forget about having a balance between work and leisure.”
Outside of academics, Guerra-Resendez enjoys learning languages as her hobby. Currently, she can speak and understand Spanish, English, French, German, and Japanese.
Guerra-Resendez enjoys eating at Yokushi Robata and Ruchi's Mexican Grill. She also tells coffee lovers on Rice’s campus to bring their own mug to Coffeehouse and “skip the line to fill it up with the drip coffee just by placing $1 in the Honor Pitch,” said Guerra-Resendez.
Graduate ambassadors can be contacted via email at gradambassadors@rice.edu. Rosa Selenia Guerra-Resendez can be contacted directly by email at rsg6@rice.edu