Rachel Kasper earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics with minors in psychology and biological sciences from Clemson University. There she worked in Dr. Sarah Harcum’s bioengineering lab focusing on pharmaceutical production optimization. Following graduation, she worked at the Jackson Lab in two different roles. The first was in In Vivo Pharmacology performing preclinical mouse studies focusing on gene therapies for autoimmune disorders. The second was with the MODEL-AD group under Dr. Michael Sasner, aiming to create an improved mouse model for Alzheimer’s disease. She is currently working on her PhD in genetics at the University of Wisconsin Madison under the mentorship of Dr. Barak Blum. Her PhD work is investigating the role of Roundabout Receptor 2 in the structure and function of the pancreatic Islets of Langerhans.