Azu Hernandez Santos

Azu Hernandez Santos hails from San Miguel Duenas, Guatemala. She has research and teaching experience as an undergraduate and has also worked as a medical intern in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Holding a biology degree from Taylor University, she currently works with Vanderbilt Health as a clinical research data specialist in Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.

Azu Hernandez was born and raised in Guatemala. She came to the US for school when she was 17 years old. She attended Taylor University where she graduated with a bachelor’s in biology in 2024. During her time as an undergraduate, Azu got the opportunity to work at different clinics located in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and the US. She also participated in research involving the DNA sequencing to map the genome of American Azaleas.

More recently she worked at the Ingram Cancer Center VUMC as a Clinical Research Scientist managing clinical studies and working along VUMC’s medical teams and pharmaceutical sponsors in their search for novel cancer therapies. She was able to learn about the several types of cancers cancer and role of many members of the clinical team in these cases, including genetic counselors.

Beyond her clinical and research work, Azu also has served in several leadership positions in her undergrad, including president of the International Student Association where she got to organize events and create an environment that would foster inclusion of many backgrounds. She also had the opportunity to work at a behavioral health center with patients that were unfit to live independently and worked along doctors and nurses to carry out therapeutic plans for their recovery.

In her free time, Azu loves to play with her dog, Whiskey, go on runs, bake, and try out new coffee shops.