Hi! My name is Gina Sanchez, and I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Weinstein Lab. We study the roles of T follicular helper (Tfh) and Germinal Center (GC) B cells in the development of autoimmunity, specifically Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. My project aims to understand what allows GC B cells with self-reactive B cell receptors to exist and expand, bypassing the tolerizing selection process that exists within the GC. I have also recently started to study a new subset of B cells, Inflammatory B cells, which are also associated with autoimmunity but do not have a clearly defined function. But I would like to tell you more about myself.
I was born and raised on Long Island, NY. I went to Stony Brook University to pursue a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Developmental Genetics. I performed research in the Clinical Psychology department in the lab of Dr. Klein, where we had an ongoing longitudinal study examining how children develop psychologically, specifically in terms of psychopathologies. I also performed some research using Nematostella vectensis (sea anemone) to look at the involvement of critical pathways in their development and how they can be targeted for cancer therapeutics. In my spare time, I was actually a belly dancer! I was the president of our dance troupe from 2016 to 2017 and coordinated many events. It became a quick passion of mine.
I came to the Rutgers PhD program in 2018 in the Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Cancer track. One of the selling points for me to come to Rutgers was actually hearing about iJOBS! No other institute that I had visited or interviewed at had mentioned any program like it. Being someone who was unsure of what they wanted to do after grad school, this seemed like an amazing opportunity for me. After attending an iJobs-sponsored event (What Can You Be with a PhD), I realized that I was really interested in communicating science. This led me to become involved in the iJOBS blog shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic came to New Jersey. I have since written several blog posts since joining.
Aside from spending time in the lab, I also greatly enjoy baking, photography, and my fair share of binging various tv shows!
This article was edited by Senior Editor Samantha Avina