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I am a senior research assistant at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. I grew up in Houston, and I am the first in my family to attend college; I earned a bachelor of science in biochemistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio, the city’s largest university with more than 34,000 students.

Crystal Archer

Cynthia Veliz works in a lab in the physiology department at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

I am a biochemist for the physiology department, and we study ion channels using biophysical approaches such as isothermal titration calorimetry to help determine binding affinity and biomolecular interactions of any two molecules in a label-free environment by measuring thermodynamic parameters including affinity, stoichiometry, enthalpy and entropy. Working in the lab is exciting and suspenseful — every day I do different tasks and experiments, and their results are often unpredictable. For instance, we believed that phosphorylation would disrupt the high affinity of the protein complex and block the binding site to prevent it from interacting with other molecules; much to our surprise we detected binding of the protein complex in a calcium-free environment. This was unexpected and very exciting.

With its interconnected universities, San Antonio has great opportunities for growth. There are lots of collaborations through health care and among universities. At UT Health, which is in the heart of San Antonio’s medical center, students can shadow and work with certified professionals in hospitals, and doctors paired with researchers help treat patients at Mays Cancer Center with cutting-edge technology and research. So far, I have collaborated with students from the University of Texas and the University of the Incarnate Word. San Antonio also offers academic and industry opportunities.

Besides career options, San Antonio has beautiful and relaxing scenery composed of hills, nice skies and trees. There is so much to do in the city, such as Six Flags Fiesta Texas, shopping at the Shops at La Cantera (an open-air mall), dining in at various restaurants and unique and fun night spots including Top Golf and JazzTX.