Anjelica Gonzalez facts for kids

Anjelica L. Gonzalez is an amazing American scientist and biomedical engineer. She teaches at Yale University as an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering. Her main work is creating "biomimetic materials." These are special materials that act like parts of the human body. She uses them to study how medicines can fix damage to our bodies. This damage can come from pollution, swelling (inflammation), or different diseases. Dr. Gonzalez also leads the team that made "PremieBreathe." This is a simple, low-cost device that helps tiny, premature babies breathe. It saves lives in places where fancy breathing machines are not available.

Early Life and Family

Anjelica Gonzalez has a rich background, being both Mexican-American and African-American. She grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and in the Moapa Valley in Nevada. Her mother, who worked as a blackjack dealer, raised Anjelica and her brother.

Anjelica's family greatly inspired her interest in science and engineering. Her grandfather managed the irrigation system in Moapa Valley. Her father, a diesel mechanic, taught her about how things are built and work. Her mother's strong math skills also helped spark Anjelica's scientific journey.

Education Journey

Anjelica went to high school in Las Vegas. After that, she attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah. In 1999, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Engineering.

At first, Anjelica thought about a career in managing irrigation systems using computers. However, she started taking biology classes that changed her path. A summer program at Baylor University was also very important. There, she worked with Dr. Aladin Boriek, a lung specialist. This experience helped her see how her math, computer, and physics skills could be used to understand the human body.

Anjelica was the first person in her family to get a bachelor's degree. In 2004, she earned her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Computational Biology from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. During her time at Baylor, she was one of the few minority students in her program. She was also the only woman graduate student actively participating.

Her Career and Discoveries

After finishing her studies at Baylor, Dr. Gonzalez worked at Texas Children's Hospital. She joined the Yale faculty in 2007 as a research scientist. Two years later, she became part of the Yale biomedical engineering faculty. By 2014, she was an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering. As of 2022, she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University.

The PremieBreathe Device

At Yale, Dr. Gonzalez created "PremieBreathe." This is a simple, low-cost breathing device for babies born too early. It helps them with breathing problems. PremieBreathe was developed and tested in Ethiopia. It has received support from important organizations like the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Gonzalez also founded Aero Therapeutics, the company that makes this life-saving device.

Leadership Roles

In 2020, Dr. Gonzalez became the faculty director of the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale University (Tsai CITY). In 2022, she was chosen to be the head of Davenport College at Yale. This made her the first Black woman to hold such a leadership position in Yale's history.

Areas of Research

Dr. Gonzalez's research focuses on several important areas:

• Leukocyte biology (how white blood cells work)
• Vascular biology (how blood vessels work)
• Biomaterials (materials that interact with biological systems)
• Vascular engineering (designing and building things related to blood vessels)

Personal Life

Anjelica Gonzalez is a busy mom with twin sons. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut. When she's not working, she enjoys playing the violin and sewing her own clothes. She is also a fan of baseball player Shohei Ohtani.

Awards and Honors

Anjelica Gonzalez has received many awards and special recognitions for her work. Here are some of them:

• In 2021, she joined Yale University's Bouchet Honor Society. This society is named after Edward Alexander Bouchet, a famous Yale alumnus.
• She received the Provost's Teaching Award from Yale University.
• She hosted Yale University's video series called "Discussions on Science and Diversity."
• She won Yale University's first Dean's Award for Inclusion and Belonging in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
• She was the first speaker in the STEM and Social Inclusion Speaker Series.
• She was a speaker at the Newsweek/Womensphere Emerging Leaders Global Summit.
• She was recognized by NBC 10 as one of their Latino Innovators.
• She won the USAID/Gates Foundation DevelopmentxChange Investor Pitch Competition Award.
• In 2011, she received the Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award for her work on "Artificial Amniotic Membrane Scaffolds for Scarless Wound Healing."
• She received the Biomedical Engineering Society Diversity Award in 2018.

Important Quotes

Dr. Gonzalez often speaks up for women and minority groups in science. Here are some of her powerful words:

• "Data shows that women and minorities are selectively sorted out of engineering, math and science careers."
• "Additionally, when they do speak up and exhibit their skills, young women are often overlooked or blatantly dismissed."
• "Studies have evaluated whether hard work is rewarded in a fair manner, and determined that cultural norms and implicit biases in many cases prevent equal reward for equal efforts."

Quotes

Dr. Gonzalez often speaks up for women and minority groups in science. She says:

• "Data shows that women and minorities are selectively sorted out of engineering, math and science careers."
• "Additionally, when they do speak up and exhibit their skills, young women are often overlooked or blatantly dismissed."
• "Studies have evaluated whether hard work is rewarded in a fair manner, and determined that cultural norms and implicit biases in many cases prevent equal reward for equal efforts."