Debra Whorms was born and raised in St. Ann, Jamaica and migrated to the US in 2008, after completing high school. Debra attended York College-City University of New York and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2013. In college, Debra was primarily involved in basic science research and as a chemistry and physics tutor. She conducted research on the mechanism of amyloid formation and on the role of the ketogenic-ketolytic axis in maintaining metabolic homeostasis. Debra spent her gap year working as a research lab technician and volunteering with a food donation service for terminally ill individuals and also with Woodhull Hospital, which serves a very low-socioeconomic population in Brooklyn, NY.

Debra is currently serving as the Parliamentarian and Community Outreach Liaison for the SNMA chapter at Harvard Medical School. Through this position she will be maintaining order at E-board meetings and, even more excitingly, she will be coordinating community outreach activities for medical students to get involved in surrounding neighborhoods. Debra is also serving as a mentor coordinator with the Harvard Health Professions Recruitment & Exposure Program (HPREP) for disadvantaged high school students. Debra’s goals in health care are basically to increase health care access and quality for the underserved. She also has a passion for addressing the lifestyle-related chronic diseases that plaque the lower-socioeconomic class. In her free time, Debra enjoys exploring the city and catching up on her many TV shows.