Rory does research at the intersection of computation and biology. Sometimes this means using DNA as a hard drive to store digital data, and sometimes this means using electronics to automate biological experiments. Rory has spent the last 2 years developing open-source hardware and software with the aim of making biology and chemistry research more accessible, efficient, and equitable.
Read MoreSonya Jampel (she/her) is a Master’s in Public Health Student in Epidemiology at the University of Washington. She uses large birth and death certificate datasets to analyze the relationship between air pollution and infant mortality in order to inform policy and prevention solutions.
Read MoreSamantha Borje is a Molecular Engineering graduate student in the University of Washington, where she works at the Seelig Lab and Molecular Information Systems Lab. Her research focuses designing massive networks of DNA pieces. She aims to use these networks as diagnostic platforms, where the DNA pieces would set off different chain reactions depending on whether or not a medical sample contains markers for disease.
Read MoreKaylin Ellioff is a Pharmacology graduate student at the University of Washington, where she studies different chemicals found in cannabis and how they can be used to treat chronic pain.
Read MoreElizabeth Bonner is a PhD student studying age-related blood cancers at Fred Hutchison Cancer Center through the University of Washington’s Molecular and Cellular Biology Program. Bonner studies the most frequent mutation found in a group of age-related blood cancers, collectively called myelodysplastic syndromes, to understand how this mutation disrupts the production of blood cells.
Read MoreLucy Bowser is a graduate student in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington. She works on a project that highlights how fishermen protect the diversity of marine life, a crucial component of healthy oceans and a healthy planet.
Read MoreRisa Takenaka is a graduate student in the Molecular and Cellular Biology program at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. As an ecologist-turned-molecular-biologist, Risa is interested in understanding how evolutionary pressures have affected, and continue to affect, living things from fruit flies to humans at the genomic level.
Read MoreEmma Scalisi is a graduate student at the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, where her research examines the relationships between small-scale commercial fishers and fisheries management agencies in Alaska. She wants to know how fish and people can benefit from listening to both scientists and fishermen.
Read MoreAbi Elerding is a PhD student at the University of Washington working to identify and isolate neuronal cell systems that guide behavior in health and disease. Her research focuses on understanding how GABA interacts with dopamine and its role in motivation and learning.
Read MoreMegan Gialluca studies massive water loss on planets in other solar systems (termed exoplanets). This process can turn a potentially habitable planet, like Earth, into a burning hot, water-less environment, like Venus. Understanding whether or not a planet has undergone this process informs scientists on where to search for alien life in the universe, and what the clues we should look for are.
Read MoreKate Van Ness is a mechanical engineering graduate student at the University of Washington where they research technology that harnesses energy from ocean currents and strategies for making this technology more reliable. Their motivation for advancing ocean energy technology is in bringing greater access to electricity around the world.
Read MoreLauren Sarkissian is an epidemiology student who will be receiving her Master of Public Health in spring 2022. She has spent her time at the University of Washington studying improved diagnostics for tuberculosis within the Cangelosi Lab. Her unique experience of studying infectious diseases during a pandemic makes her eager for an exciting career in public health.
Read MoreAlex Neitz is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program. Her
research looks at how organisms act as clocks to predict daily variations in their environment.
She is interested in how the modern environment affects the timing of these inner clocks in
humans to cause Seasonal Affective Disorder and what we can do to prevent it.
Miranda Mudge is a graduate student and researcher in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department at the University of Washington. She is studying proteins to better understand how bacteria influence and respond to their environment. Her research involves using proteins in bacteria as a tool for predicting harmful algal blooms.
Read MoreArena Manning is a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience at UW. By
analyzing brain activity and imaging the brain, she studies the role that different
interneurons (a type of neuron) play in mediating epilepsy.
April Lo is a genome sciences graduate student at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In her research, she studies what happens in lung cancer cells when there are errors or imbalances in genes. By connecting changes in genes to changes in the cell's messaging system, she hopes to better understand and help treat this deadly cancer.
Read MoreConnor Krolak is a 2nd year Bioengineering PhD student studying how ultrasound can be used to create better diagnoses for cancer, and then also use ultrasound to treat the cancer as well. He is currently focusing on using ultrasound to diagnose a really difficult type of liver cancer – hepatocellular carcinoma.
Read MoreChristina Bjarvin is a graduate student and researcher at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental Forest Sciences, working and studying in the Center for International Trade of Forest Products lab. Her research focuses on how constructing tall buildings out of wood can help us fight climate change.
Read MoreSaumya Jani is a graduate student researcher in the University of Washington’s Department on Lab Medicine and Pathology. She is studying the immune response to an aggressive and often lethal skin cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma, in order to improve immune-based cancer treatments.
Read MoreNicole Gregorio is a second year PhD student in bioengineering at the University of Washington. She is developing new, Jell-O-like materials that help us better understand cells and disease. These materials are also a key part of improving disease treatments that help the body regenerate itself.
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