Lindsey Richelle Fernandez Backman is a PhD Candidate in MIT’s Department of Chemistry. She was born in Tampa, FL, and she received her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Florida. At MIT, Lindsey works in Prof. Cathy Drennan’s lab where her research is focused on biochemically and structurally characterizing new enzymes prominent in the human gut microbiome. In 2019, Lindsey co-founded MIT’s Latinx Graduate Student Association (LGSA). Lindsey also enjoys serving as a Graduate Resident Advisor (GRA) for the Latinx Living Community La Casa in the dorm New House at MIT. She is passionate about helping to make academia a more inclusive space, leading her to remain involved in the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) which she participated in herself as an undergrad, to serve on the Dept. of Chemistry’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC), and to help form an initiative started with other Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Graduate Fellows called Transforming Academic Ecosystems (TAE). Outside of the lab, Lindsey enjoys dancing, reading, and cooking!