SF BUILD supporting women of color in biomedical research

When Cathy Samayoa was attending community college, a San Francisco State University professor came to give a lecture in one of her chemistry courses. That professor was Carmen Domingo, now the dean of the College of Science & Engineering — and for Samayoa, it was eye-opening just to see another Latina who was a scientist.

“It was like, these people exist?” Samayoa explains. “I always had great mentors, but they were white males. I felt like they were amazing mentors, but I’m not like them.”

That lecture inspired her to apply to San Francisco State. Three degrees later, she’s now an adjunct assistant professor and has for years been one of several leaders of the SF BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) program, which aims to make biological research and medicine more diverse. Many of the scientists leading the program are also women of color, working to change the discipline from the inside out.

Read more at SF State Magazine.