Biography
Verlena Little, Diné (Navajo) is Ma’ii Deeshgiizhni (Coyote Pass Clan) born for Ye’ii Dine’ii Tachiinii (Giant Red Streak Clan). Nakaii Dine’ii are her maternal grandfather’s clan and Tódich’ii’nii (Bitterwater) are her paternal grandfather’s clan. She resides on Black Mesa in an area known to locals as Sand Springs.
Verlena rejoined the Center in January of 2022 and is a Research Assistant with the Tuba City Infectious Disease team. Prior to joining the center, Verlena worked as a Medical Lab Technician with the Pinon IHS Laboratory. Working through the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic behind the scenes, training clinical staff on the proper specimen collection techniques and then running the tests; she decided she wanted to do a little more and looked into opportunities with the Center. Coming from a background in Cancer research at the University of New Mexico Cancer Treatment Center, she was able to transition from lab to research.
Verlena is an eternal student. She is currently working on a BS in Biomedical Sciences at ASU and might add another subject to focus on once she is done. Eventually, she hopes to pursue a Master’s in Data Science and continue in that area.