Faculty & Scientific Staff

Susana earned her BA in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduation, she taught middle school science (7th grade life science; 8th grade physical and chemical science) for 2 years in Oakland, CA through Teach For America. While teaching, she concurrently earned her MA in Education from Alliant International University. Susana then worked as a staff research associate in Dr. Eva Harris’ Lab developing improved animal models to study dengue virus pathogenesis before moving to Seattle, WA to pursue her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Washington (UW). She did her dissertation work in Dr. Andrew Oberst’s Lab in the Department of Immunology at UW, where she studied the immune consequences of inflammatory cell death. Susana is currently a postdoctoral research associate investigating inflammatory hemophagocytes in the context of Plasmodium infection. Outside of research, Susana enjoys spending time with her pets, going to soccer matches, reading, painting, and doing the occasional triathlon. Her personal goal is to be fluent in 5 languages in the next 10 years, although apparently that takes time and actual studying.