Dr. Darya Marchany-Rivera

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we honor the lives and work of Hispanic scientists who have made significant contributions to our understanding of health and disease. Their dedication and determination serve as an inspiration to aspiring young scientists.

Dr. Darya Marchany-Rivera is a staff engineer at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University. As a Puerto Rican woman in STEM, Dr. Marchany-Rivera has enjoyed the support of several mentors throughout her journey from chemist to a beamline scientist. She is passionate about helping other Hispanic students achieve their goals and stresses how important it is to sometimes ignore the transcripts and just give students a chance.

…I always try to make people realize that if you want to be inclusive and diverse, it has to start with you. You can’t wait for your corporation or your work environment to do the change for you. It really is just a personal decision and openness to diversity. There's no evidence anywhere that someone is better than any other person—with resources and exposure, anybody can be as good as anybody else.

Dr. Darya Marchany-Rivera

Let’s start by learning about you and about your research.

I’m a Puerto Rican beamline scientist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where I work with the Structural Molecular Biology Group. My initial training was in chemistry, so I was a chemist first, but then pivoted to biophysics for my PhD. After a postdoc at ASU, I came to SLAC, became a research associate, and in March 2023, I officially became a beamline scientist.

Wow, that’s quite a journey from being a chemist to a biophysicist to a beamline scientist. How did that all unfold?

I’ve always liked science—in seventh grade I was doing science projects for science fairs, and then got even more involved in them through my chemistry teacher in High School. Originally, I was very interested in being an environmental chemist or a marine biologist, but in tenth grade, I had my first exposure to solving protein structures. My school was part of a program called “Science on Wheels” from the University of Puerto Rico—Mayaguez. In 2003, they partnered with NASA to try to crystallize proteins in microgravity. I participated in a US-wide contest for students to prepare samples to be sent to space, but there was an accident that year, so the samples I prepared weren’t sent. I ultimately presented at the local science fair, however, and ended up advancing to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) that year.

For my undergraduate research, I worked in Professor Juan López-Garriga's lab on a project involving protein crystallization. I learned a lot of techniques, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, crystallization, protein purification, and gene cloning. At the end of my undergrad, I interned at the Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos in Granada, Spain, where they specialize in crystallography. After a summer there, I started my PhD in Puerto Rico, which was challenging because of hurricanes in Puerto Rico and some budgeting issues at the university. I took a year off to go to culinary school and then worked for another year, before returning to finish my PhD. While completing my PhD, I became involved with BioXFEL, a National Science Foundation (NSF) science and technology center, where I also met people from the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) office who were doing an intense course on crystallography. I then completed an internship at Hauptman-Woodward Institute, where I decided I wanted to be a beamline scientist.

Wow, that’s an incredible story. For those who aren’t familiar with this field, can you explain how the work you do impacts people?

We study the structure of biological macromolecules like protein, DNA, and RNA. We aim to understand their structures and interactions with other proteins and how they function. As a beamline scientist, I don't have a project of my own, but I help a lot of people with different aspects and work with challenging proteins like anaerobic proteins and metalloproteins. I get to help with research and develop instrumentation and techniques useful for understanding proteins in their normal environment, so they're more accurate and representative of what they actually do in nature. We do a lot of structural studies and collaborate with people who are trying to understand the structure of proteins that are relevant in illnesses so that, eventually, new useful drugs can be developed.

And for you, what is the most rewarding part about working in this field?

In the field of crystallography, most people aim to solve the structure of proteins, find their targets, and develop drugs. I work on the background of the instrumentation so they can have the tools to solve those structures. Thus, for me, the most rewarding thing is helping someone achieve what they want. I get to do that and do science. I don't feel like I have to compete with people, which is great because I don't like the feeling that you're competing to achieve something.

One thing that struck me from your story was the Science on Wheels program and how that really helped your career. Can you talk more about the people who have mentored and supported you on your journey?

There was a chain of events starting with my high school teacher, Marisol Colón-Lancara, through whom I met the director of the Science on Wheels Educational Center, Dr. López-Garriga, a professor at the University of Puerto Rico—Mayagüez. Being involved with them helped me get to where I am right now and I got to meet my biggest mentor for my PhD, Dr. William Bauer, who was the Director of Education at BioXFEL at the time. He was very supportive and involved with every intern who went through BioXFEL. His conversations encouraging us to take opportunities were particularly helpful. Some of my current coworkers were my mentors as a grad student—including my boss, Dr. Aina Cohen. She helped a lot by allowing me to explore what I could do at SSRL as a grad student.

Is there a Hispanic scientist or professor who has inspired you the most in your life and work?

My chemistry teacher from high school, Marisol Colón-Lancara.

And how has their support impacted how you support Hispanic students in your own work?

At SLAC, there are several programs for underrepresented students, and I always try to have interns from those programs. I also encourage any of the students that I had or know from Puerto Rico to apply and get exposed to as much as they can because I didn't do that when I was pursuing my bachelor's. So now, every time I see something that anyone can benefit from, I share it and tell them, “Well, you should try this and go for it.” And every time someone needs a recommendation letter, I help them.

Is there anything you’ve learned through mentoring students that you think is good advice for researchers and professors to support Hispanic students?

When selecting interns, I've heard people ask, “how do you choose one so that you’re inclusive but at the same time have a student that has the skills that you need for the project?” The reality is that sometimes students don't have any experience, and that's when you need to give them the chance. It’s not just looking at what the transcript says but giving the students an opportunity to try.

It does take up time because when you're mentoring, you need to spend time with the students to encourage them and make them feel that they're moving forward. Paying attention to their needs, giving opportunities, and encouraging them is important because sometimes, young students are not extremely outgoing or they’re shy, and so they need a push.

I believe being inclusive and diverse has to come from within the person. There's not an actual path that you can follow if you don't feel there's a need to diversify. The key is finding a balance of opportunities for everybody.

I can imagine that for some of those students that aren’t so outspoken, advocating for themselves can be difficult. Did you have to advocate for yourself to face any challenges in getting to your current position?

I have to say that I haven't had a lot of stones thrown in my way to not make it happen, which I feel is because of the people I surround myself with. I’m also not an incredibly competitive person. I always like to help, so in that sense, I haven't felt the types of challenges that I have seen other women and Latino people in science face.

So surrounding yourself with supportive people is important— are there any other pieces of advice you would give to students for advocating for themselves?

I think finding allies is a good thing. The most renowned person may not be the best person for you or your best advocate. Depending on what your dream is, move according to that. Don't try to force yourself to do something that is not what you really want just because it looks good on paper.

Earlier you mentioned that you haven’t faced much adversity due to your heritage. But are your colleagues interested in actively learning more about Puerto Rico and your heritage? What do you most enjoy sharing with them?

Thanks to BioXFEL, who did most of their workshops in Puerto Rico, my coworkers have been exposed to Puerto Rican culture, and they love the food and the island vibe. I have Puerto Rican decorations all over my office, I have earrings that are related to Puerto Rico made by local artists. Everybody asks me about them, so I end up talking about Puerto Rico a lot. I'm a music enthusiast, so I'm always listening to music in Spanish in all genres. I also liked to make certain culinary items to share, like coquito which is a very iconic drink from Puerto Rico. I even have a coworker that always asks me, “Are you making some of that honey drink?”

Speaking of food, you mentioned earlier that you took a year off for culinary school. Can you share a little bit more about that?

I like cooking and baking, so I went to culinary school to prepare myself to have a backup plan when I retire. When my research wasn't going anywhere, I was stressed and decided to go for it. I went to Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando for a year and then went back home and worked at a restaurant for a while. I then worked from home, cooking for my coworkers and friends at the university. I joke that it was pre-training for the dream of having a bakery in the future.

As an incredibly successful Hispanic woman scientist, you are an inspiration to many young girls out there. Is there any last thing you would like to share about Hispanic Heritage Month as a Hispanic woman in STEM?

I always try to make people realize that if you want to be inclusive and diverse, it must start with you. You can’t wait for your corporation or your work environment to do the change for you. It really is just a personal decision and openness to diversity. There's no evidence anywhere that someone is better than any other person—with resources and exposure, anybody can be as good as anybody else.