Ashley CadenaGraduate Student

Ashley Cadena graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Environmental Chemistry and a minor in Science Education. She has previously worked at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography distributing CO2 reference materials to marine scientists around the globe. Further on, she spent two years working as a research associate in the biopharmaceutical industry, targeting the use of microRNA therapeutics for the benefit of patients with genetically based orphan diseases. In this role, she gained hands-on experience working with clinical trial patients and their specimens to develop biomarker assays. Ashley looks forward to expanding her previous knowledge to further understand how climate change is impacting urban environments. More specifically, her research involves the use of radiocarbon measurements derived from annual plants to display the distribution of fossil fuel emissions in urban environments. She understands the power of community building and is passionate about involving community science and science communication in her research. As a first generation Mexican American and first to graduate from college in her family, she is committed to empowering BIPOC individuals to further diversify STEM.