While attending law school, Raquel worked with the firm in 2022 and 2023 as a summer associate in its patent prosecution practice. She served as an intellectual property analyst intern at University of Arkansas Technology Ventures where she performed market research for and intellectual property analysis on new technologies developed at the University. Raquel was Events Committee Chair for the University of Arkansas Patent Boot Camp where she provided leadership, event planning, and helped develop the agenda for this nationwide symposium focused on current issues in intellectual property. She also served as a judicial extern at a leading logistics and freight transportation provider in Lowell, Arkansas. The University honored Raquel with its Pro Bono Service Recognition in 2024.

While attending the University of Arkansas, Raquel was a graduate research assistant where she:

• Developed chitosan nanoparticles with a greater drug loading capacity of aminoglycosides for targeted drug delivery and controlled drug release for the ocular environment
• Synthesized a Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) hydrogel film for protein delivery
• Fabricated a Chitosan-PEGDA film with antimicrobial properties for food packaging
• Investigated the bioenergetic profile of cell lines derived from patients with mitochondrial disease
• Assisted with laboratory set up and started cell culture experiments for cancer research
• Trained undergraduate students on laboratory procedures and safe practices

Previously, Raquel was a high school biology teacher at Bentonville High School in Arkansas where she developed and implemented a biology ESL curriculum and started its biology International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Raquel’s native language is Portuguese. She has basic knowledge of Spanish.