Karina is a rising second-year Ph.D student in the Helen Wills Neuroscience Program at the University of California, Berkeley. Karina is interested in understanding how developmental factors, such as spontaneous activity and molecular cues, instruct circuit wiring and, ultimately, function. For her thesis, she will be studying neuronal circuits in the retina. She graduated as a first-generation college graduate from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience in 2018. During her time in undergraduate studies, she did research at Harvard Medical School and Boston University studying a range of neuroscience topics. She credits her success to her great mentors and is committed to providing mentorship to underrepresented and first-generation students who wish to pursue a degree in higher education. Outside of research, Karina enjoys being outdoors, watching Netflix, reading books, making art, and playing with her kittens, Mija and Banjo.