A Promise to His Grandmother Will Carry Him to a Career in Medicine
For Molecular Biology major Melvin Rodriguez, studying melanoma in zebrafish is more than academic – it’s a promise kept and a path toward healing
Posted in: Admissions, Alumni, Graduate Spotlights, Humanities and Social Sciences, Martinson Honors EDGE, Science and Technology
In one of their last conversations, Melvin Rodriguez made a promise to his grandmother that he would help patients fighting the cancer that was taking her life. “It was a promise to myself, a promise to serve and a promise to my grandmother,” he says. “She’s been my driving force.”
A dozen years later, that promise is coming true. A first-generation student from Camden, New Jersey, Rodriguez is graduating in May 2026 with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and minors in Chemistry and Classics from Montclair State University, and will attend medical school.
That promise has shaped his time at Montclair, especially his work in the lab with zebrafish to better understand cancer. Rodriguez dove into research focused on melanoma and fertility, presented his work at conferences and mentored fellow pre-med students – all while balancing rigorous science courses with Honors and Classics seminars.
Discovering research with zebrafish
At Montclair, Rodriguez joined research already underway in Biology Professor Carlos Molina’s lab using zebrafish to “apply what we see in the fish to then help humans.”
Explaining the zebrafish research in a way his grandmother would have understood, Rodriguez says, “The genes of the zebrafish are kind of like a light switch; you can turn them on and off.” He and his labmates turn off a tumor-suppressor gene so the fish are more likely to develop tumors and increase their chances of getting melanoma in their skin pigment cells. By watching how a single protein changes under those conditions, they can learn lessons that may apply to people, since humans and zebrafish share similar genetics and the same ICER protein with similar effects.
Rodriguez engaged deeply in that research and in sharing the work, including poster presentations at Montclair, Rutgers University and in Dallas, Texas, as part of the American Heart Association Hispanic-Serving Institution scholar program, where he collaborated on research with scholars across the United States and Puerto Rico. He earned recognition as a Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Scholar, a CSAM Summer Research Scholar and a participant in the six-week Premedical Urban Leaders Summer Enrichment (PULSE) program.
“I love being rigorously challenged. I’ve always been very heavy on my work ethic, and there’s just no other curriculum like medicine that is so rigorous, so intense. I feel I would be doing a disservice to myself by not pursuing something that I know I could definitely handle and take on,” he says. “I believe everyone has a God-given vocation, this inexplicable desire to pursue certain professions, and for me that’s medicine.”
Support, mentoring and EOF
Navigating college as a first-generation student came with challenges. He credits the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program, the Pre-Medical Program, mentors and close friends with providing the support, leadership development and MCAT preparation that helped him succeed and feel a strong sense of belonging at Montclair State University.
“Melvin came to college with a clear goal and determination to make it happen,” says Melissa Pecora, his EOF counselor and academic advisor. “Through hard work and focus, he followed through on that mission and turned his goals and dreams into reality.”
Rodriguez is paying it forward as a pre-med mentor. “I help incoming freshmen and transfer students adjust to college life, suggesting what classes to take, what extracurriculars to pursue – and helping to keep them motivated on the pathway towards medicine because it is a really difficult and daunting journey.”
A well-rounded education
Rodriguez, a student in the Martinson Edge Honors Program, says his own path has been academically well-rounded. “Science is definitely heavy. If I had pure science every semester, I’d probably want to pull my hair out cause that’s a lot of knowledge, a lot of information, a lot of studying.
“That’s why I like having the Classics minor on the side as well as being in the Honors Program. The Honors Program helped create a further divide, because I’ve taken interesting courses – like a class about cookbooks, a class about animal minds – which makes each semester feel different and have some type of outlet to go to apart from the sciences. Being able to balance my curriculum and to feel very grounded in my education has proven successful and very instrumental in my ability to succeed.”
Looking ahead to oncology
Looking ahead, he knows where he hopes his path leads. He’ll be attending Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden to pursue medicine.
“I definitely want to pursue oncology. Recently, I’ve been debating whether I want to pursue radiation oncology or medical oncology, which would allow me to do chemotherapy and things of that nature. I guess that’s something I will discover in medical school. I also want to have an open mind because I know a lot of people say that you enter med school to become one profession and then might switch to another.
“I understand medicine is multifaceted in both its disciplines as well as the patients that you face. It’s always good to keep an open mind – you never know what you might encounter.”
This story is part of a series celebrating Montclair State University’s graduates – students who embody the University’s mission to broaden access to exceptional learning opportunities and contribute to the common good.