My name is Elias Quijano and I am a 7th year MD/PhD student at Yale, originally from Miami, Florida. Prior to starting my graduate studies, I worked for several years in a lab learning the ins and outs of drug and gene delivery, focusing mostly on lipid and polymeric nanoparticles. It was through that work that I met my wife, Amanda, with whom I have two kids, Mason and Acadia. Outside of the lab, I am deeply passionate about mentorship, having served for the last several years as the graduate coordinator for STARS, a program focused on retaining minority undergraduate students in STEM. Additionally, I have developed a passion for biotech, serving as a Blavatnik Associate at Yale and co-founder of Gennao. In many ways, starting a biotech has been challenging, but it has also reminded why I wanted to become a physician-scientist in the first place: I wanted to do something incredibly practical that had the potential to improve human lives. During my free time, I mostly enjoy physical activities including powerlifting, Olympic lifting, and running marathons.
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