Migue Darcera knows what he wants to do long term—become a physician-scientist focused on infectious diseases while advocating to advance STEM education equity and global vaccine accessibility. Everything he has done in his college career is leading up to that.
Set to graduate summa cum laude with a 3.91 GPA, Migue is “a role model for undergraduate students here at Northeastern,” Associate Professor of Biology Yunrong Chai says. “He is highly motivated and devoted in STEM research. He has a passion in helping others and has contributed effortlessly to the communities, both on and outside of Northeastern campus.”
Migue says that within the Northeastern community, he can compartmentalize his involvement into three categories—research, leadership, and service. He was a research assistant for Dr. Emily Clough in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities and helped create a database for philanthropic grants from around the world. For Dr. Yunrong (Win) Chai’s lab, he investigated the development of biofilms, multi-cellular communities of bacteria ubiquitously found in nature. Dr. Chai said Migue “has the potential to make interesting discoveries.” Because he was interested in public health, he became a health equity intern for the Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research, exploring the effectiveness of antimicrobial stewardship programs in Ghana.
His leadership is also admirable. He has been a resident assistant for three years and has been vice president of TriBeta—the Biological Honor Society—and secretary of the Biology Club. He says, “I founded and led Paging Ahead, an initiative that enhanced educational opportunities for children in the Philippines through the distribution of books.”
Migue has served Northeastern and the Boston communities as a volunteer peer mentor for BIOL1000, College of Science ambassador, teaching assistant for American Chinese Christian Educational and Social Services, senior health educator for Peer Health Exchange and a student volunteer for Citizen Schools. He’s been a conference assistant for Northeastern’s External Events and Conference Program, a teaching assistant, and is host of “The Adobe Mix” on WRBB Radio in Boston, one of the city’s few stations regularly playing Filipino music.
The training and mentorship he received at Northeastern have enabled Migue to grow as a scientist and researcher. He’s presented his work at regional and national conferences, co-authored a research article in the Journal of Bacteriology and was honored in the Undergraduate Poster Competition at ASBMB’s DiscoverBMB. His most significant achievement, he believes, is “the profound scientific growth I experienced through my research endeavors in the Chai lab. I have grown from a timid, inexperienced researcher into a fearless, independent scientist unafraid to as and pursue questions, big and small.”
Not surprisingly, Migue has garnered many awards and honors, including the Schafer Research Scholarship and more than $15,000 in PEAK Awards to support his research. In addition, he received the RA of the Year, 2025 award and was selected for the Huntington 100.
