Christian Sanchez

Christian Sanchez was only 10 when he and his family left Havana, Cuba for Naples, Florida. His search for a better future was difficult socially, economically and personally, but he never lost sight of his one goal: to always make his family proud.

Christian first became interested in biology during high school, counting down the days until he could attend college and conduct research in a lab. As a first-generation college student, Christian set his sights exclusively on FIU — a top tier research university recognized as a Hispanic-serving institution.

He worked with his mentor Phillip Stoddard, an FIU Professor of Biological Sciences, assisting with experiments on insecticide resistance, focusing on Aedes aegypti mosquitos that transmit diseases like Malaria, yellow fever, Zika and more.

As a part of the Advanced Research and Creativity in Honors (ARCH) in the FIU Honors College, Christian found older mosquito eggs are more susceptible to insecticides. Today, he’s still conducting insecticide resistance experiments and hopes to publish his work soon.

In addition, Christian is co-president of the Pre-Med American Medical Student Association (AMSA) at FIU. He also founded the Undergraduate Mentorship Match Program (UMMP) for premedical students to receive guidance from upperclassmen who have already been through the undergraduate journey.

Next, Christian plans to continue his research at FIU and is applying to medical school with the hope of conducting research that could save lives.

By Angela Nicoletti
Account Manager
College of Arts, Sciences & Education