SAGE Scholar Dafne Zarate

Meet Dafne Zarate

Dafne is participating in a SAGE-funded summer research experience at the United States Department of Agriculture in Wapato, WA.

Below Dafne shares a little bit about herself and her summer project with the USDA.

“I am a first-generation Hispanic student who wants to go to medical school and pursue a career as an Oncologist. I enjoy working in lab settings and doing research to make advancements in science and health care. My summer research focuses on a leaf hopper called Colladonus reductus that infects certain trees, especially cherry trees in Washington State, with a disease called X-disease phytoplasma. Our main goal is to study the leaf hopper’s odorant receptors and try to conclude if the leaf hopper has odorant receptors in its body, just like it has on its head.”