Current MCN Trainees

Anyerys Diaz

Predoctoral Trainee

MCN research focus: regulation of ion dynamics during the oocyte-to-embryo transition. 

Mentor: Marianna Woflner

I am a PhD candidate in Dr. Mariana Wolfner's lab in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. I am originally from Bani, Dominican Republic and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. I obtained my Bachelor of Science in biology with a minor concentration in visual arts from Union College, NY. As an undergraduate, I completed my honors thesis in Dr. Nicole Theodosiou's lab investigating how Leucoraja erinacea, the little skate, developed organ asymmetry during embryogenesis. Now in my PhD studies, I am interested in understanding how cells respond to ionic cues from the extracellular environment through membrane ion channels and how these ion signals trigger reprogramming within the cell. For fun, I really enjoy reading, crafting, and trying new foods. 

 
 

Erin Sley

Postdoctoral Trainee

MCN Research Focus: Periconceptional nutrition, perinatal epidemiology, international nutrition

Mentor: Julia Finkelstein

Erin Sley is the NICHD T32 postdoctoral fellow for the MCN training grant. She recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a MPH in maternal and child health and a doctorate in epidemiology. Her dissertation assessed modifiable risk factors for orofacial clefts with an emphasis on prenatal dietary patterns and Hispanic individuals. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Finkelstein Lab, Dr. Sley is conducting research on the role of periconceptional nutritional status in the etiology of health outcomes in women and their children, as part of a population-based CDC periconceptional surveillance program and randomized trial in Southern India.

 
 
 
 

Beatriz Carmona

Predoctoral Trainee

MCN Research Focus: Developing a Maternal Self-Care Scale

Beatriz Carmona is a second year Ph.D. Student in Community Nutrition working with Dr. Laura Bellows in the Health Behaviors Lab, as well as one of the MCN trainees this year. She finished her undergraduate degree in Nutrition/Dietetics at Auburn University in Alabama in May of 2021 and joined the Division of Nutritional Sciences that fall. She’s lived and worked in a number of different places across the US and Mexico that have all shaped her interests toward public health nutrition, and she is grateful to be able to continue cultivating these interests at Cornell. Outside of the lab, Beatriz enjoys making small crafts and exploring Ithaca’s many surrounding trails.

 

Françoise Cattaneo

Predoctoral Trainee

MCN Research Focus: Nutrition and metabolic health in women and their children; international Nutrition

Françoise is a PhD student in International Nutrition at Cornell University and a T32 Maternal & Child Nutrition (MCN) trainee in the Mehta Research Group. She completed her Master’s degree in Nutritional Epidemiology with a concentration in Food Systems at Wageningen University (The Netherlands, Kenya) and her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and International Public Health at Boston University (USA, Switzerland). She is passionate about climate-resilient interventions, such as biofortification, that address both healthier diets and planet in low-resource settings. Prior to starting her research, Françoise worked for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) on the Innovation for Health and Planet and Knowledge Leadership teams. Her current research focuses on micronutrient deficiencies and metabolic health outcomes in women and their children in Southern India.