Enrique De La Cruz
Student Researcher
Torrance,CA
Summary
As a biomedical science enthusiast and social justice warrior, I dedicate my time to making medical and STEM education accessible to everyone. Networking with nurses and medical professionals from across the United States feels like a hobby for me, and every connection and message I get from those who have experience in the medical field represents a part of my journey in becoming a leader in healthcare. Whether it is pressing the "join" button on a Zoom call to meet another person in medicine or speaking about neurodegenerative diseases in front of a sea of faces, I've found my niche in discovering new facets of rare disorders. Raising awareness about these medical conditions has been at the center of every healthcare advocacy initiative I launch, and every moment where I pipette two-hundred microliters of cell suspension on a cover slip has reminded me of the research that still needs to be done to ensure that more people understand the ins-and-outs of diseases that aren't typically talked about. Twenty years from now, my research and specialty will not only revolve around rare, mostly inherited, cellular diseases, but it will also consist of a voice and large-scale efforts to help patients, who otherwise would not have had the resources, overcome these medical conditions. Recent injustices and shortcomings within the healthcare system has contributed to the following personal stance: the healthcare industry needs to be reshaped. My endeavours within the healthcare industry and leadership will provide a solution for that.
Overview
1
1
year of professional experience
2
2
Certification
Work History
Founder and Director
Revitalised Medicine
03.2025 - Current
- Company Overview: A medical organisation which has impacted >50k people globally.
- Assigned tasks for members from the U.S, Canada, Vietnam, and India that include writing and editing blog/research/science lit review articles to spread medical education in oncology, sharing shadowing videos and lab procedure resources, and hosting webinars on research/healthcare policies/science behind medicine to promote health advocacy for civilians globally.
- Recruited highly-distinguished members, some of whom researched with the Cambridge Centre for International Research and presented at Stanford conferences.
- Established and maintained a rigorous process for editing work members contributed that has included >80 posts and >23 articles related to healthcare ethics/innovations/policy, scientific knowledge in the medical field, current events involving the medical field, specific extracurricular activities prospective pre-med students can undertake.
- Began our first chapter in rural Minnesota, thus establishing the organisation on a national scale.
- Partnered with Starttowrite, a publishing group that uploads science research/essays/opinion pieces onto a site racking thousands of views that is linked to their Instagram account with >1800 followers, to publish research and mental health articles associated with Revitalised Medicine and raise awareness about the issues discussed in those writings.
- Published the two research proposals from the SARC High School Academic Research Programme with them.
- Published two mental health articles from a Revitalised Medicine member.
- Published an independent research report about integrated management approaches for ADHD and substance-use disorders utilizing insights from Dartmouth College's Grand Rounds, a lecture and seminar series held at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
- Collaborated with Mediquills, a Virginia-based organisation renowned for bestsellers in children's medical-themed books and for publishing vaccine policy papers with the European Union, on a podcast about rare diseases, Beyond the Helix, to mobilize healthcare policymakers and enthusiasts to end disparities on access to treatments for these conditions across underrepresented communities and a cancer-oriented children's book series.
- Co-hosted guest speakers who are founders of reputable organisations, such as Dr. Interested, a youth-led global pre-med community based in Canada which has impacted >350000 individuals across >65 countries.
- Recruited a Fort McMurray, Canada, Mediquills chapter to create a book to publish to add onto the series, which I later edited, and thus, partner with our organisation.
- Received two other submissions which we eventually co-published onto Amazon Kindle.
- Directed efforts to promote Project T.R.A.U.M.A, an organisation focused on building an app for PTSD patients that can be downloaded on wearables (e.g. smartwatches) to detect potential panic attacks or hallucinations and alerts caregivers, starts sound therapy, offers coping techniques, and connects users to healthcare professionals.
- Initiative was successful in ensuring that Project T.R.A.U.M.A's recruited an executive board.
- Established a permanent audience consisting of >50 followers for the organisation.
- Coordinated outreach in support of them which has reached over 1600 views.
Research Intern
Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA
06.2025 - 08.2025
- Company Overview: Highly selective biomedical research programme (
- Engaged in 300 hours of hands-on research and built a portfolio using work centered around investigating early formation of perineuronal nets (PNNs) due to Aggrecan protein upregulation with Principal Investigator Dr. Michelina Iacovino Ph.D from UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.
- Plated and replated >2 million MPS IIIA-affected - pediatric brain and nervous system disorder - forebrain neural cells and >2 million neural therapeutic pluripotent stem cells for the condition and tracked/compared their differentiation over the course of 8 weeks.
- Immunostained and imaged healthy control and diseased patient cell line samples to compare Aggrecan upregulation by analyzing differences in integrated pixel density between images of the two types of cells on the Fiji processing platform under Dr. Sung Won Hur Ph.D's mentorship.
- Authored an extensive list of protocols - building on work a recent postdoc (now Dr. Anna Luzzi Ph.D) accomplished during her stint at the lab - in growing neural progenitor cell cultures and differentiating them into forebrain neurons, immunostaining, and confocal imaging.
- Built together a presentation highlighting my findings and showcased it to >50 representatives from the research community at a programme commencement ceremony, including Lundquist C.E.O Dr. Joe Ramos and >40 invitees from across California.
- Designed poster with data compiled from measuring imaged neurons' pixel intensity and size, along with designs of research methodology and induced pluripotent stem cell models for MPSIIIA created on Biorender and showcased it to the same programme commencement ceremony.
- Garnered praise from programme directors Dr. Mina Desai Ph.D, Ms. Jennifer Strong M.B.A, and programme director Ms. Wesley Chen for my performance in presenting my findings at the ceremony.
- Mentored and delegated tasks to a couple of fellow lab students on pipetting, feeding/plating/replating neural progenitor cells (NPCs), tracking NPC culture growth over time, imaging neural structure, and writing lab protocols.
- Attended and interacted with medical Ph.Ds, M.Ds, and Ph.D graduate students speaking about healthcare careers, medicinal advances, and various types of medical conditions/treatments and relevant research at 16 lunch lecture series.
Participant
SARC High School Academic Research Programme
04.2025 - 05.2025
- Attended 8 virtual bootcamps and meetings with M.Ds instructing participants how to create a well-organized, thorough research proposal with all necessary facets to complete a scientific study and how to conduct wet-lab research.
- Created a proposal advocating for wet-lab research on improving the effectiveness of oncolytic viruses by altering their genetic composition coding for the production of specific antibodies which target melanoma tumors.
- Later created another proposal using a similar approach to advocate for dry-lab computational modeling research leading to a suggested solution to pitfalls in oncolytic virus engineering that prevents melanoma tumor expansion.
Education
High School Diploma - undefined
West High School
01.2026
Associate Degree - undefined
El Camino College
10.2025
Skills
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Neuroscience
- Research Design
- Data Analysis
- Mathematics
- Literature Search
- Microsoft Excel
- Pipetting
- Cell Culturing
- Fiji Image Software
- Graphic Design
- Collaboration
- Leadership
- Project/Event Coordination
- Diversity/Equity/Inclusion
- Social Media/Website Development & Management
- Journalism
- Editing
- Interviewing
- Shadowing
- Spanish
- Swedish
Certification
- The Reconceive Project 'Speak the Pulse' Workshop Attendance Certificate, Met with directors, including a BS/MD student, a public health researcher, and a physician, of a health advocacy project who discussed how to make an impact on the medical field with community involvement.
- CITI Programme Introduction to Biosafety Course Completion Certificate
- CITI Programme Biomedical Responsible Conduct of Research Certificate
Accomplishments
- Mathematics Department Award Nomination x 2
- Mathematics Department Medal
- English Department Award Nomination
- AP Scholar Award
- AP Scholar with Distinction Award
- Summer 2025 Eve and Gene Black Summer Medical Career Programme Acceptance
- Fall 2025 StandOut Connect Internship Acceptance
- $3000 Grant from the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA
- College Board National Recognition Program - School Recognition Award
- National Merit Scholarship Program Letter of Commendation
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Spanish
Native or Bilingual
Swedish
Elementary
Publications
- From Pipettes to Progress: My Journey Through the High School Summer Fellows Program at TLI; wrote article highlighting 'Early Formation of Perineuronal Nets in MPSIIIA-Affected Neurons' research completed over the course of the Lundquist Institute HSSFP. Reached audience of >6k followers on The Lundquist Institute's Linkedin and >500 followers on their Instagram with the assistance of their media team.
- The Power of Oncologists for Kids; authored book delving into the basics of cancer and the complex work oncologists complete to diagnose, prevent, and treat it through a kid-friendly lens. Reached Mediquills's audience, which so far comprises of >10000 children worldwide (10 countries across 5 continents).
- Aggrecan's Effects on Early Formation of Perineuronal Nets in MPS IIIA-Affected Neurons; utilized data acquired during the 'Early Formation of Perineuronal Nets in MPSIIIA-Affected Neurons' experiment to author a ResearchGate paper emphasizing Aggrecan's effects on early formation of perineuronal nets in MPS IIIA-affected neurons and whether it was upregulated in Sanfilippo Syndrome Type A, like other PNN proteoglycan components.
Interests
Human Biology
Chemistry
Public Health
Biochemistry
Cell & Molecular Biology
Neurology
Medical Anthropology
Affiliations
- The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline
Research Intern
Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA
06.2025 - 08.2025
Participant
SARC High School Academic Research Programme
04.2025 - 05.2025
Founder and Director
Revitalised Medicine
03.2025 - Current
High School Diploma - undefined
West High School
Associate Degree - undefined
El Camino College