OLIVIA JUSTYNSKI

Bio:

I am originally from Rhode Island and earned my undergraduate degree at Mount Holyoke College, a women’s college that is gender diverse. I graduated in 2016 with majors in biological sciences and mathematics and wrote my senior thesis on epidemiological modeling of tuberculosis in the US.

I pursued my PhD at Yale University in Dr. Valerie Horsley’s lab, where I studied the role of apoptosis and the detection of dead cells during wound healing using a mouse model. During my graduate education, I also developed an interest in science outreach, communication, and teaching. After finishing my graduate studies, I began my postdoctoral research in Dr. Alvaro Sagasti’s lab at UCLA. I am currently investigating the function and characteristics of migratory cells in zebrafish skin during early development.

I am honored and excited to be an IRACDA scholar at UCLA. My long-term goal is to achieve a faculty position at a primarily undergraduate institution, which will integrate my passions for rigorous and collaborative research in the field of skin formation and healing as well as teaching and mentoring the next generation of scientists.