Thelma was born in Guatemala and raised in Southern California. She obtained her B.S. from UCLA in 2007 and her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2014. Her graduate thesis research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), focused on understanding the regulation and function of T cell gene expression programs. She then joined Danny Reinberg’s Laboratory at New York University School of Medicine where she made important contributions highlighting mechanisms permitting epigenetic inheritance in mouse embryonic stem cells. Thelma joined the University of Washington Biochemistry and the Institutes for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine faculty in 2021.

 

 

 

Fredrik was born and raised in Sweden. He received his B.S in Biomedical Laboratory Science from Linköping University, Sweden. He also obtained his Ph.D. at the department of Pharmacology at Linköping University researching adverse effects of β-agonists and antagonists in isolated airways. He came to the U.S. as a postdoc at UW in Dr. Bornfeldt’s lab studying atherosclerosis initiation and regression in a diabetic model. In a second postdoc at UW in Dr. Campbell’s and Dr. Fausto’s Lab he studied liver regeneration. Then he worked as a research scientist in Dr. Stevens lab at UW studying artificial tissue in pre-clinical settings before joining Dr. Escobar’s lab.

 

 

 

Francisco was born and raised in Santiago de Chile. He obtained the degree of “Engineer in Molecular Biotechnology” from Universidad de Chile in 2014 and his Ph.D. from Universidad Andrés Bello in 2018. His research, done in Alejandra Loyola’s Lab at  “Fundación Ciencia & Vida”, also in Chile, was focused on the cytosolic maturation of newly synthesized histones H3 and H4, studying the complex network of enzymes and chaperones that is involved in the proper processing of histones in its way from the ribosome to the nucleus. In 2021, Francisco joined the UW Biochemistry Department and the ISCRM to further explore how the processing and handling of histones can have an impact in cellular identity and differentiation.

 

 

 

Odette was born and raised in Santiago de Chile. She obtained an Associate degree as a “Higher Level Technician in Industrial Biotechnology” from INACAP in 2013. She had her professional internship at the Public Health Institute of Chile (ISP) and, after graduating, she worked in the Laboratory of Fish Immunology at “Fundación Ciencia & Vida” as a Lab manager and Research assistant. In 2015, she obtained a position in the biopharmaceutical company Medivation, bought by Pfizer in later 2016. Before moving to the US, Odette was working at Merken Biotech, a Chilean Contract Research Organization (CRO) specialized in preclinical scientific studies and bioanalytical services of molecules with potential therapeutic use. There, she worked as an assistant in the Mass Spectrometry department. Odette joined the Escobar Lab in 2021.

 

 

 

Morgan is a second year PhD student in UW’s Biochemistry department. They got their BS in Cell and Molecular Biology at Western Washington University, where they were in the lab of Dr Suzanne Lee, who studies siRNA biogenesis in Tetrahymena. Before pursuing graduate studies, they were a technician in the lab of Dr Don Sodora and worked on elucidating the mechanisms behind B cell dysfunction during SIV infection. Outside of the lab they enjoy spending their time painting, gaming, and attempting to keep their plants alive.

 

 

 

 

Sara was born and raised in northwest Wisconsin. She received her BS in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2017. During her undergraduate career, Sara studied the structure-guided function of DcrB, a Salmonella enterica copper-resistance protein. Currently, Sara is a second-year graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry and is working towards her Ph.D. Outside of the lab, Sara spends most of her time trying to keep her cat out of trouble!

 

 

 

Nelli was born and raised in Russia. She obtained her B.S. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She worked at an Astronomy lab, where she focused on munging and modelling stellar data. Having found her career of interest, Nelli expanded her knowledge on data by completing a Data Science course at General Assembly. Afterwards, she worked as a Data Scientist at Microsoft, as well as a Data Science Instructor at General Assembly before switching to a Bioinformatics field. Now, Nelli is a Bioinformatics M.S. student at NYU, and joined the Escobar lab in 2023.

 

 

 

 

Willow was born and raised in Washington state. They received their A.A. degree at Pierce College and are currently a Bioengineering undergraduate student at the University of Washington. By combining their passions for bioengineering, equity, and the environment, they hope to use engineering to make healthcare more accessible and sustainable. Willow joined the Escobar Lab in 2021 as a student assistant, and worked as an undergraduate fellow in the summer of 2022. Outside of the lab they enjoy spending time outdoors, painting, and weightlifting.

 

 

 

Alumni

Name	Dates in Lab	Position in Lab	Current Position
Michael Holt	2021-2023	Research Engineer	Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Washington
Stephanie Martinez	2022-2023	Post-bac student	PhD student, John Hopkins Medicine
Cassandra Zen	2022	Summer student	Undergraduate, Heritage university

 

Lab Pet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun