Meet Christina Vialva, an analytical nutrition laboratory technician and advocate for inclusion within the San Diego chemistry community. Christina is a member of the San Deigo Younger Chemists Committee (SD-YCC), of which she serves as Chair. San Diego was the location of the ACS Spring 2025 Meeting. Christina’s profile is part of “Meet the YCC”, a series of blog posts highlighting YCC members and associates and what they do both in and outside of ACS.
Christina Vialva (she/her/hers)
SD-YCC Member
LSYCC: Chair, San Diego Younger Chemists Committee (SD-YCC)
Other ACS Involvement: Immediate Past-Chair of the San Diego Local Section
Education
B.A., Chemistry, San Diego State University
Connect: SD-YCC doesn’t have active social media accounts at this time, but you can contact Christina at cvialva@sandiegoacs.org or on LinkedIn!
What motivated you to join an LSYCC?
I was motivated to join a LSYCC because I wanted to be a part of creating a community network for other young chemists in the area. I think it’s common for a lot of young graduates to feel overwhelmed when they first set out on their post-degree journeys. New stressors, responsibilities, and opportunities feel like a new burden to bear alone; however, knowing that there are others in your similar situation makes it all easier to talk about. There are many mentorship networks that connect a younger chemist to someone much older and experienced, but the YCC achieves mentorship through the type of communication that is best delivered by another person you’re in sync with.
Although I can’t offer advice with the credibility of extensive experience with starting a LSYCC, I would suggest that those who are hoping to start a YCC should know that you aren’t doing it all alone. Starting a YCC can seem like a mountain of pressure, but it doesn’t need to be, because it thrives upon itself. What I mean by that is, the work of starting a YCC does not totally fall on the shoulders of the committee members. While it does take commitment and dedication on the committee’s part, a community, especially a new one, tends to constantly evolve and grow as time continues. So, don’t hold yourself back from starting your YCC! If you are the first to propose a change, others will most likely join in to help sooner than you’d think.
How has your career taken a unique or unexpected path?
When I was deciding on what major to pick for college, I remember thinking that I would never want to work in a lab with animals or anything “icky, slimy, or gross”. That wish didn’t last long, when I decided to really consider a career in food chemistry. As a current full-time laboratory manager working on multiple ongoing nutritional studies involving both humans, mice, and rats, you can probably imagine that I’ve encountered some “icky, slimy, and gross” things. I would have never expected my path in chemistry to lead me to those settings, but I followed what naturally interested me throughout my classroom chemistry experience. Although I can’t say I would have expected where I am now, I also can’t say that I would rather be anywhere else.
Biographical photo by Antoine Didienne (ad147photos)
