Hi! I’m Alba
I’m an American Brazilian high school student at the Marymount School of New York preparing for a career in medicine. This site highlights the research and clinical learning I’ve done so far, from cancer immunotherapy to infectious and autoimmune disease. It also honors the teachers, mentors and patients who have generously supported my journey so far. I believe science, equity, and patient dignity are inseparable, and that belief guides everything I do.
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, National Institute of Infectious Disease
HIV/AIDS research, FIOCRUZ
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In the summer of 2025, I began research with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), one of Latin America’s leading public health and biomedical research institutions. Under the mentorship of Juliana Netto, MD, PhD, my work focuses on HIV/AIDS and related malignancies, including Kaposi sarcoma. I was drawn to this research because it sits at the intersection of science and lived experience, raising questions about how differences in care across health systems shape outcomes for patients who are often marginalized.
This is an ongoing project. I am currently analyzing treatment approaches across different settings and developing a working hypothesis.
Cancer Microbiome research,
Meyer Cancer Center (MCC) at Weill Cornell Medicine + Englander Institute for Precision Medicine (EIPM)
New York, NY
I completed a highly selective summer internship under the mentorship of Himel Mallick, PhD. My work focused on the role of the cancer microbiome in immunotherapy, examining how microbial composition influences response to immune checkpoint blockade. I was intrigued by the idea that often overlooked microbes could affect whether a treatment works, and how much more there is to learn about predicting response and personalizing cancer care.
Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto and Marymount school of New York
Fogo Selvagem research,
More Active Girls in Computing (MAGIC) +
Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto
New York & Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Under the mentorship of Kourtney Sprague, MS, I studied Fogo Selvagem, a rare autoimmune disease endemic to certain regions of Brazil. Through literature-based scientific analysis, I examined the environmental, genetic, and immunological factors associated with disease development. I was drawn to this research because it sits at the intersection of immunology and global health, and because it affects communities that are often overlooked in both research and care.