Marie-Martine Uwera

I am Duke undergraduate student from Rwanda. I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Global Health. Upon successful completion of my undergraduate and graduate studies, I will serve as a Clinical Research Epidemiologist. I want to scientifically investigate groundbreaking global research and control new and re-emerging infectious diseases responsible for loss of countless lives.

As an intellectually curious individual, I have explored valuable experiences outside my academic major. I have dedicated the past 3 years conducting independent research in Infectious Disease laboratory at the Duke Department of Immunology. During my research experience, I have conducted three independent projects one of which I am recognized as contributing author of the manuscript. Our research lab is focused on investigating specific functions of fungal genes using both in-vitro and in-vivo assays for gene deletion strains. The main goal is to shed light on resistant pathogen virulence to target development of novel efficient pharmaceutical drugs. All things considered, I am appreciative of various fellowships programs which supported my research including Howard Hughes Fellowship, Duke Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Grant, MasterCard Foundation Scholarship, Cardea Fellowship and a 4-year Undergraduate BioCore Program Research Fellowship. As I embark on my senior year, I will continue working on two separate projects mentioned above.

Outside of class and research work, I work as an Intramural Sports Official for Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Softball, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee and Wallyball. In addition, I am part of the Duke Technical Services Team where I work as a special Event Sound System Technician for Weddings, Duke Chapel Church Services and Duke Blue Devils Athletic teams. For fun, I enjoy playing basketball, bowling, mini golf, arcade games and engaging in outdoor adventures such as hiking, zip lining, rock climbing with my friends and family. I am a compassionate person and love to engage in all sorts of conversations with a genuine smile.