Aga was born and raised in Poland, where she studied Chemistry at the University of Wroclaw. She continued her education after moving to Denver by obtaining an M.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Structural Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Colorado Denver. As a graduate student, she became fascinated by the cell biology of intracellular transport and moved to the University of California San Diego to pursue a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Sam Reck Peterson, where she studied how dynein molecular motor is regulated. Outside the lab Aga loves hiking, running, and exploring the outdoors. Twitter: @Aga_Kendrick

Álvaro was born and completed his studies in Madrid, except for a year in the UK, which first triggered his yearning to live abroad. After obtaining a B.S. in Biochemistry and a M.S. in Biotech he was drawn to learn cryo-EM doing his PhD in the Arias-Palomo Lab (CIB-CSIC). There, he studied how dedicated ATPases remodel their transposases to perform the strand-transfer reaction. An interest to keep learning cryo-EM of dynamic systems and single-molecule techniques drew him to a postdoc in the Kendrick lab, where he hopes to unveil how adaptors of cellular motors impact signaling networks in the cell. Besides skiing, his greatest passion outside the lab, Álvaro loves cooking, reading, and enjoying time outdoors with friends.

Pinky recently moved from Princeton, NJ. She loves reading novels and enjoys spending time with her family and rescue dog.

Sonia was raised on the east coast and is a fourth-year biology student at Rutgers University in New Jersey. At Rutgers, Sonia is a learning assistant for physics labs, is vice president of a women’s fitness and wellness club, and volunteers for an east Asian women’s shelter. She plans to explore her passion for biology through research and a career in dentistry. After completing her biology degree in New Jersey, she plans to move to San Diego with her family. In her free time, Sonia loves to read, go to the beach, and explore different ways to be active.

Jonathan Diaz Zarco was born and raised in San Diego. He became interested in STEM with a calling to research after being influenced and mentored by a closer teacher in high school. As a transfer student he wishes to pursue research with the goal of trying different fields. In his free time, he enjoys photography, reading, and learning about cars.

Krish was born and raised in San Jose, growing up with a passion for science. As a first year Neurobiology student at UC San Diego, he is interested in studying how neuropathologies can be linked to cellular and molecular mechanisms, which he hopes to further explore through a career in medicine. In his free time, Krish enjoys playing piano and clarinet, along with swimming and biking.