Lidya was born and raised in Venezuela, and emigrated to Canada in 2011 to start her postsecondary career. She earned a PhD from Ontario Tech University in 2021 where she worked on developing a delivery system for gene silencing therapeutics that could selectively target cancer cells. Lidya currently works as an Educational Developer at Ontario Tech University and as the Communications Coordinator for Science Rendezvous. 

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Lidya is extremely passionate about STEM education and has extensive experience teaching at the post-secondary level. Her areas of expertise include Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Anatomy. Through her STEMthusiast platform, Lidya aims to make STEM education more engaging and accessible. She also uses this space to share open educational resources and study/learning tips.

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As part of her mission, Lidya also aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and STEMinists by showing them that everyone belongs in STEM! Lidya is a proud Latina woman and chronic illness advocate. She believes that you can't be what you can't see and is committed to providing the representation she did not see growing up.