Ana Estevez

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Ana Estevez, Sarah Johnson ’82 Professor in the Sciences (Biology and Psychology)

Professor Ana Estevez, wearing surgical globes, holds a test tube while standing in her lab.

I was born and raised in New York City. Both of my parents are immigrants from the Dominican Republic, and they met in NYC in the 1960s while working in clothing factories. Neither of them had formal education beyond elementary school but, somehow, they both knew how important a good education was for a successful future. So, no matter what my siblings and I did, education had to come first.

I have been interested in the sciences since as early as I can remember. I did not go to a very good high school, in fact that high school no longer exists. But I consider myself lucky to have had wonderful teachers that nurtured my interest in science and helped expose me to enrichment opportunities by involving me in science fairs, Academic Olympics, and after-school science programs at NYU and LIU. Teachers also helped me get after-school and summer jobs outside of my usual options (working in a clothing factory or in a friend’s corner bodega).

As an undergraduate, I attended Binghamton University and earned a B.S. in Psychobiology. I was lucky I could go away to college. Although my parents supported me furthering my education, it was uncommon in our culture for kids my age, especially females, to move away from home to go to college. I was extremely lucky that one set of cousins paved the way for me. My aunt was instrumental in convincing my parents that letting me go away to college was the best for my future.

My undergraduate alma mater was a large state school, but I luckily found a niche of close friends to help navigate this new environment. And, although making connections with professors was not as common as it is at St. Lawrence, through my involvement with the Latin American Student Union, I met a provost who became a mentor and was instrumental in helping me think about a graduate school as an option. He connected me to a faculty member at Wayne State University, the school that I eventually attended to earn a Ph.D. in Physiology.

After my graduate degree, I moved to Nashville, TN to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship (a.k.a., post-doc) at Vanderbilt University. I was a post-doc, then a research associate professor, at Vanderbilt prior to moving to Canton to work at St. Lawrence University in 2005.

At SLU, I hold a joint appointment in the Biology and Psychology departments and all of my courses serve the neuroscience major.  Research-wise, I have always been interested in the brain. My current research focuses on developing pharmaceutical agents that can be used to protect nerve cells from dying during a neurodegenerative disease or after an insult (like a stroke).

So, with little bit of luck, a whole lot of hard work, and some great mentors along the way, I came to be where I am today. I am excited to participate in this mentorship program because I   know first-hand the difference great mentors made in my life.