Rachel earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology from Brigham Young University. She was introduced to research by working in a cancer research lab at BYU, but discovered her true passion was studying infectious disease through a summer internship in a virology lab. Rachel spent a year as a postbac at the NIH working on a COVID-related project. All of these research experiences prepared Rachel for her current position as a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania where she currently studies vaccine vectors for emerging arenaviruses. At Penn, Rachel is an active member of PGWISE (Penn Graduate Women in Science and Engineering) and is passionate about enhancing the educational experience of women in STEM. Outside of lab, she loves hiking, camping, reading, and finding the best pizza in town!