Ana Maria Porras

Ana Maria Porras is an American biomedical engineer[1] who is assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Florida[2] and an IF/THEN Ambassador[1] for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Porras has published academic research in the fields of human microbiome, tissue engineering, biomaterials, global health, and infectious disease.[3] She is known for creating crochet versions of micro-organisms as a way of connecting with a wider audience, especially children in her home country of Colombia.[4] A 3-D printed statue of Porras holding several of her crochet creations was included in the IF/THEN exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in March 2022. She was named a UF International Center Global Fellow in 2021, a Cornell Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, 2019-2022 and an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellow, 2015-2016. She co-founded the LatinX in Biomedical Engineering (LatinXinBME)[5] community with Brian Aguado, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California San Diego.[5] Porras was quoted in a 2021 BBC article on the gender differences in the use of professional titles.[6]