Annette Figueroa is a second-year undergraduate student studying Human Biology and Society. She is currently involved in research at Dr. Black’s Lab at UCLA, which focuses on developing a mechanistic understanding of the regulation of pre-mRNA splicing and applying it to human health. Her project specifically aims to identify the specific locations where U1 snRNP (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein), which is essential in demarcating the 5’ splice site, binds, and the active binding sites for splicing. This way, we will begin to understand how U1 function and splicing fails. Approximately 10-15% of pathogenic variants associated with human diseases are reported to occur at splice sites, therefore it is vital to establish comprehensive binding maps of U1 snRNP. Long-term, this project is expected to map 5’ splice site across the transcriptome, making it useful in medical genetics by designing drugs that alter splicing patterns in pathogenic variants. She would like to thank Dr. Black, her mentor, Daniel Arce, and the care fellows program for allowing me to engage in research and grow as a scientist.