Melinda M. Sorensson

Born in Manila, Philippines, and was raised on a farm forty miles south of Manila. Mother was a school teacher, father was a gentleman farmer. Has seven siblings. Ancestors were Chinese, Filipino and Spanish. Went to the University of the Philippines on a Full Academic Scholarship and obtained a degree in Chemical Engineering, and then went to Hawaii to attend graduate school. Awarded a Dissertation Fellowship by the Soroptimist Club International and obtained a degree in Biochemistry at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Was offered postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech, University of Washington and The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Did postdoctorate at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California under a MARC Fellowship from NIH.