PEEC Graduate Student -- Advisor: Pamela Martinez

Research Interests

Special interest in infectious diseases (their spread, infectious dynamics, natural history, etc.).

Research Description

Right now, the research is on baby steps, but my advisor and I want to explore how environmental factors (e.g. temperature), host heterogeneity (e.g. age) and mobility shift the spread of Influenza and other respiratory infections.

Education

  • Ph. D. student: Integrative Biology [08/2025 - current]
    • University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign
      • Major in Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation
  • Master of Science (M.S.): Public Health [08/2021 - 07/2023]
    • University of Puerto Rico – Medical Sciences Campus
      • Major in Epidemiology
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.): Social Sciences [08/2015 - 05/2021]
    • University of Puerto Rico - Cayey
      • Major in Psychology
  • Bachelor of Science (B.S.): Natural Sciences [08/2015 - 05/2021]
    • University of Puerto Rico - Cayey
      • Major in Natural Sciences
      • Minor in Mathematics

Grants

  • Kinesis Scholarship for graduate students studying in USA, August 2025 - present
  • Dotal Scholarship for graduate students to cover academic and/or material expenses, June 2022

Additional Campus Affiliations

  • GEEB Association [2025 - current]

Highlighted Publications

  • Araujo, L. G., Cedeño, K., Bomfim, A. P., de Oliveira Silva, M., Mendes, A. V., Barberino, M. G., Gouveia, E. L., Bahia, F. M. M., dos Reis, M. G., & Reis, J. N. (2025). Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales bloodstream infections related to death in two Brazilian tertiary hospitals. BMC Infectious Diseases, 25(1), 725.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-11115-x
  • Cedeño, K., Amaya-Ardila, C. P., Ramos-Cartagena, J. M., Guiot, H. M., Muñoz, C., Tirado-Gómez, M., & Ortíz, A. P. (2024). Association of body mass index with anal human papillomavirus infection and histologically confirmed high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in people who receive services at the Anal Neoplasia Clinic in Puerto Rico. Preventive Medicine Reports, 45, 102810. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PMEDR.2024.102810
  • Cedeño, K., Silva, M. de O., Mendes, A. V., Conceição de Castro, A., Barbosa, M. S., Barberino, M. G., Galvão dos Reis, M., Martins, I. S., & Reis, J. N. (2024). Assessing the Burden of Disease of Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infections in a Brazilian Hospital: A Retrospective Cohort Study from 2015 to 2019. IJID Regions, 12, 100401. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJREGI.2024.100401