Anna La Torre grew up in Campdevanol, a small village quite close
to the Pyrenees in Catalonia. She
attended the University of Barcelona where she received a degree
in Biology, and was introduced to the world of Developmental
Neurobiology as an undergrad by virtue of Dr. Jesus M. Ureña’s
generous mentoring at the Institute for Research in
Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). She joined the Neurobiology
Ph.D. program at the University of Barcelona under the
co-mentorship of Dr. Ureña and Dr.
Miranda is originally from San Diego, CA and decided to try
out the small-town experience for her undergraduate degree at UC
Davis where she received her
Bachelor’s in Biotechnology. She enjoyed it so much
that she is continuing her studies at Davis, where she is now
investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in early retinal
patterning in both in vivo mouse models and in vitro retinal
organoids. Her passion for spiky creatures, specifically sonic
hedgehogs, really excites her.
Adam Miltner is from the center of the US–Kansas–and received
his bachelors degree from the University of Kansas. He moved to
Northern California for graduate school but still anticipates
watching the Jayhawks dominate the rest of the Big
12 conference annually in basketball, not football, of
course. Adam is interested in using Stem Cells to generate
Retinal Ganglion Cells in vitro to move cell replacement
therapies a bit closer to clinical applications. He writes the
best final sentences for scientific papers (this one is clearly
not his).
Keiko Hino came from Osaka, Japan and has a bachelor degree in
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Davis. She developed
an interest in neuronal development through her experience
in the lab but her magic hands for research are inbuilt. Outside
of work, she likes to watch movies and play sports.
Mikaela Louie is from Honolulu, Hawaii and received her
bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science from the University
of California, San Diego. She is currently studying the molecular
roadblocks for Retinal Ganglion Cell transplantation,
and she has the burden to be the “computational person” in a wet
lab. Mikaela has many interests outside the lab including baking
delicious mochi cakes, growing succulent plants, and cosplaying
as other members of the lab.
Elizabeth is from Phoenix, Arizona and received her Bachelor’s
degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. She has worked on
a new model organism in each of her previous three labs and
is excited to add four new organisms to the list as she compares
retina development across different species. In addition to
endlessly counting cells, she likes to visit museums and explore
the outdoors. Elizabeth took a quick break from lab bench before
starting graduate school to teach future scientist ecology in the
Redwood Forest, and she has been an avid teacher ever
since.
