Maria Hernandez

Ever since she arrived on campus, Maria has been invested in women's health projects. She has been working in the Griffith Lab, a part of the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research, on developing a physiomimetic model of the endometrium to study endometriosis since her freshman spring. Through this work, Maria has learned how understudied this disease is even though it affects 1 in 10 women (of reproductive age).

She has also been involved in Engineers Without Borders since her freshman fall. Now a co-lead of the Health and Sanitation project team, she is working with a passionate team of students to renovate a healthcare facility that serves around 5,000 community members in Mkutani, Tanzania. The goal of the renovation is for pregnant women to have a safe, comfortable space to give birth. Within this project, Maria is also working to help women in the community gain access to menstrual cups to increase the amount of hygienic period products available.

After MIT, Maria will be attending the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Her projects at MIT inspired her to become a physician focused on helping women and raising awareness about the importance of women's health.