While working toward his Ph.D., Irving Vega found some faculty members who encouraged him and others who questioned why he, the first member of his family to attend college, was even there.

“I had some very good mentors, but I also had some very bad people who tried to block my progress,” he recalled, “because I didn’t fit the mold.”

As it turned out, the doubters were wrong. Vega eventually earned a Ph.D. in cell biology and neuroscience, became a highly respected researcher in Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases at Michigan State University and recently was honored with the title of Red Cedar Distinguished Faculty.

Since January, he has taken on additional responsibilities as the director of a program at MSU to increase diversity in the neurosciences, much like one at the University of Puerto Rico that encouraged and helped him keep studying toward a research career.

“If it was not for programs like this, I don’t think I’d be here,” Vega said. “These programs provide equity and inclusion.”

At MSU, he directs the Bridge to the Ph.D. in Neuroscience Program, an ENDURE (Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences) program funded by the National Institutes of Health to raise interest and opportunities in neuroscience for undergraduate students who are underrepresented in the field.

To read more, visit humanmedicine.msu.edu.

MSU recognizes National Hispanic Heritage Month, and our community is coming together to strengthen resources, programs, research centers and scholarships serving Hispanic and Latinx students at MSU. Learn more at givingto.msu.edu.