PhD Student Alexa Tierno receives 2024 Latino Excellence and Achievement Award

Alexa Tierno, a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology who also studies traumatic brain injury in the Robert Hunt Lab, received the Excellence in Research and Health for the Latino Community Award at UC Irvine's 7th Annual Latino Excellence and Achievement Awards Dinner on April 4, 2024. The event is held annually to honor key leaders, graduate students, faculty and staff who have advocated, supported and championed student success and research excellence in the Latino community at UCI and in Orange County. 

Tierno received her BS in neuroscience at UCLA where she studied forelimb recovery following spinal cord injury using epidural stimulation. She then earned her master’s degree in physiological science at UCLA, continuing her research in spinal interneurons and spinal cord injury. At UCI, Tierno’s PhD work focuses on understanding the structural and functional circuit changes after traumatic brain injury. She has earned several awards, including the Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship to give a talk at the Gordon Research Conference on Epilepsy in Barcelona, Spain, and an NINDS F31 fellowship.

Outside of the lab, Tierno strives to give back to her Hispanic community. During her time at UCLA, she participated in an outreach education program designed  to teach local high school students at traditionally underserved schools about the effects of drug abuse on the brain. At UCI, she has volunteered at events hosted by ReachOut TeachOut, an organization designed to immerse local underrepresented high schoolers in STEM research and careers. Tierno is currently looking for ways to establish outreach programs through the UCI Epilepsy Research Center and hopes to set an example for aspiring Latinos interested in pursuing STEM careers.