心脏总是在工作.' She is, too, in studying it to help children.

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葆拉·涅托·莫拉莱斯(Paula Nieto-Morales)回忆起当她告诉父母她想成为一名新生儿科医生时，他们脸上困惑的表情. 她才5岁.

“那时我还很小! And they asked, 'Where did you learn that word?'" said Nieto-Morales, who was born and raised in Colombia.

她可能是在看电视时染上的，主要是看自然和医学纪录片. Flashed on the screen were images of babies and the word "neonatologist,专门照顾早产儿或有先天性疾病的婴儿的医生.

Nieto-Morales, 医生的女儿, has had a lifelong interest in learning about newborns and science. 这一直延续到她在威廉斯堡坎伯兰大学的时候, 肯塔基州, 现在她正在塔拉哈西的佛罗里达州立大学医学院攻读生物医学博士学位.

At FSU, Nieto-Morales studies diseases of the cardiac muscle, or cardiomyopathies. It has inspired her to pursue a career in pediatric cardiology.

她说:“我一直被心脏和它永不停止的事实所吸引。. "It's always working" – just like Nieto-Morales, who seemingly is always looking to explore new ideas and opportunities.

In 2013, 16岁时, she moved to the United States by herself after earning two scholarships, including one to play collegiate tennis.

After graduating in 2018 with bachelor's degrees in chemistry and biology, 她搬到了亚特兰大，在疾病控制和预防中心的准备和新发感染部门担任承包商.

疾控中心的校园距离埃默里大学医学院大约有五分钟的步行路程. 到达亚特兰大后不久，她联系了埃默里大学，了解其医学院. Nieto-Morales connected with Dr. 大卫·埃尔伍德, 是谁邀请她参加医院的一个项目，包括检查病人和观察当天的第一个手术病例.

涅托-莫拉莱斯抓住机会加入了住院医生和主治医生的行列, listening as they discussed cases and asking many questions. It had to be on her own time, so she would arrive by 6 a.m. and leave in time to get to the CDC three hours later.

“其中一些医生喜欢教书，”涅托-莫拉莱斯说，他认为埃尔伍德是自己的导师. "They're used to having a lot of medical students, so that's probably why everyone thought that I was a medical student."

Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Medical facilities in the nation desperately needed health care workers. With her CDC contract coming to an end, 涅托-莫拉莱斯有两个工作机会:在埃默里大学担任实验室技术员，或者成为疾病预防控制中心COVID全球应对团队的临床实验室科学家承包商.

疾控中心的职位将把她派到俄克拉荷马州卫生部工作九个月，以支持测试能力. 加入埃默里大学意味着在不确定的时期呆在熟悉的环境中，同时离医学院又近了一步.

Nieto-Morales decided to head west, feeling a duty to respond to the crisis. 在部署结束时，她觉得自己已经准备好从事研究和医学方面的职业. 2021年8月，她开始了FSU的博士课程，目前她在FSU博士实验室工作. 何塞·平托, a professor in biomedical sciences who, along with colleague Dr. P. Bryant Chase, mentors Nieto-Morales.

“她是那种在挑战中茁壮成长的学生，不断寻求新的学习和成长机会,平托说. “你必须不断给她提供任务和项目，因为她总是渴望接受更多，挑战自己的极限."

Nieto-Morales' research-centric path to medical school isn't typical, but it's all going according to her plan. 她有望在2026年春季完成博士课程，并计划在秋季开始医学院学习. 她将自己的目标描述为成为一名“医生兼科学家的儿科心脏病专家，为被诊断患有心脏病的儿童进行从床到床的研究和病人护理。."

涅托-莫拉莱斯自愿在一家妇女妊娠中心担任超声技术员，该中心与资源不足的人群合作，确认胎儿心跳和宫内妊娠. 她也 一个学者 在美国心脏协会的全国西班牙裔拉丁裔心血管合作组织工作, 这是一个指导项目，旨在促进西班牙裔社区心血管疾病和中风的治疗和预防. 平托 encouraged her to apply, she said.

“他不是医生, but he talks about patients often, which I think is rare for a basic science researcher to care so much for patients,她说. "I think that's why we are a good fit. 他看到了大局."

An avid runner, Nieto-Morales is training for an ultramarathon. 她喜欢旅行，最近在荷兰阿姆斯特丹大学医学中心的一个实验室学习了新的研究技术. 今年夏天, 她还在旧金山的一家生物技术公司做临床研究实习.

"Paula wants to assemble the complete package as a physician,平托说. 她的目标是能够帮助每一个人，为她未来病人的生活带来改变."