Erica Peterson grew up in Vancouver, WA, and at 18, made her way up I-5 to attend the University of Washington, where she earned a B.Sc. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Looking to explore beyond the Pacific Northwest, she hopped across the pond to University College London for a Master’s in Biosciences, focusing on stem cell research and glioblastoma. Eventually, she returned to Seattle to work at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, spending a few years immersed in tissue expansion, gelation, and clearing. Fascinated by expansion chemistry, she joined the Vaughan Lab as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry in 2024.
When she’s not in the lab, Erica loves traveling, playing pickleball, and tackling New York Times games (always trying to beat her fastest crossword time). If the Seattle weather cooperates, she’s out skiing in the winter or hiking in the summer with her mini-aussie, Ellie.