Laboratory Project Manager
Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit, Puerto Rico, United States
Joanelis Medina Quintana currently serves as the Laboratory Project Manager for the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit, a program of the Puerto Rico Science and Research Trust. She completed her master’s degree in molecular biology and a Ph.D. in Public Health Environmental Epidemiology. With extensive experience in working with vector-borne diseases and pathogens, she played a pivotal role in responding to a Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico in 2016. During this outbreak, she was assigned to the Diagnostics team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dengue Branch in San Juan, PR, where she received training in a variety of assays ranging from immunodiagnostics to molecular diagnostics. Subsequently, was recommended by the CDC to join the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit, where she spearheaded the establishment and implementation of a Molecular Laboratory facility on the island. This facility has the capacity to test over 1,800 mosquito pools weekly to identify arboviruses or potential pathogens from samples collected in Puerto Rico and internationally. Additionally, she served as a Biology Professor at public and private universities in PR for four years. The combination of her academic training, scientific publications and work experience in the fields of laboratory and entomological sciences has positioned Ms. Medina Quintana as an ESA Science Policy Fellow in Washington, DC and as a winner of the 2024 Leadership Excellence Awards of Lab Manager Magazine and 2025 International Branch of the Entomological Society of America Early Career Research and Leadership Award.
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Wednesday, March 25, 2026
9:10 AM - 9:20 AM PDT