Ana Maria Porras, Ph.D., assistant professor in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida, has been selected as a 2025 Rising Star (Science) by the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL).

She will be recognized at the ASEMFL Annual Meeting, held November 7 in Orlando. As part of the honor, Porras will present her research during the Rising Stars Session on November 7, from 3:15–4:30 p.m.

Porras leads the Tissue-Microbe Interactions (TMI) Lab, which engineers disease models to study how microorganisms interact with human tissues to drive pathological processes in the host. Using these models, her team identifies the mechanisms through which both beneficial and pathogenic microbes initiate tissue remodeling.

Her interdisciplinary research program at the intersection of cell and tissue engineering, matrix biology, and microbiology is uncovering novel mechanisms in human-microbe interactions. By developing advanced in vitro models that more accurately replicate human tissue, Porras’ work has broad implications for cardiovascular disease and microbiome-based therapeutics.

ASEMFL recognized Porras “for pioneering a research program that is transforming the understanding of how human-associated microbes remodel the extracellular matrix (ECM) to drive disease.”

The ASEMFL Rising Stars program highlights early-career researchers across Florida who are making exceptional contributions in science, engineering, and medicine. Honorees are invited to share their work in rapid-fire presentations designed to showcase the next generation of innovators shaping the future of research in the state.