About Christina

Christina grew up in central Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate she attended Macalester College where she received a BA in Biology and a BA in Chemistry with Honors. Christina’s honors research focused on characterizing enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of several fungal secondary metabolites with interesting biological properties. 

Christina completed her her PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the lab of Dr. Danica Fujimori at UCSF. Her doctoral training employed chemical and biochemical approaches to interrogate the enzymology of tRNA methylating enzymes, as well as developing aptamer-containing, small molecule-sensitive gRNAs for the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Following her time at UCSF, Christina conducted research as an American Cancer Society and Leading Edge postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Pedro Batista at the National Cancer Institute and Dr. Michael Segel at Harvard University, where her work focused on understanding how interactions between cellular environment and post-transcriptional modifications impact gene regulation in cancer and aging systems. 

Outside of lab, Christina enjoys running, cycling, hiking, trying new foods, tea, science fiction, and board games.