Hi everyone! My name is Julie, and I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine Ph.D program at Stanford. I was born and raised in sunny Los Angeles and moved for the first time to start my PhD in the Bay Area. I earned my B.S. in Physiological Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA, I spent five years conducting stem cell based gene editing research for monogenic diseases as both an undergraduate researcher and a research technician in Dr. Donald Kohn’s lab. My research interests lie in understanding the signaling mechanisms that regulate stem cell fate determination. More specifically, I am investigating the role of Wnt signaling and cell adhesion in blood cell development in the lab. On campus, I have been involved in numerous leadership and science outreach initiatives including Stanford at The Tech, the ADVANCE Summer Institute and ADVANCE Undergraduate Institute. Outside of the lab, I love listening and obsessing over pop music, doing reformer pilates, spending time out in nature and finding new gluten free spots!