My name is Julissa, and I’m a PhD student in Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics. Born and raised in LA, I moved east for my undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University, where I began my research in Dr. Candice Etson’s lab, studying how electrostatic interactions and molecular crowding influence restriction endonucleases to understand mechanistic models for DNA flipping by monomeric (Type IIP REases). I later became a McNair Fellow in Dr. Enrique De La Cruz’s lab at Yale, investigating the mechanochemical regulation of the Arp2/3 complex and branched actin networks. Across these experiences, I’ve become especially excited about using physical and quantitative tools to understand how proteins move, interact, and regulate cellular processes in real time!
Here in the Obara lab, I am studying mitochondrial contact sites, focusing on how these contacts are dynamically regulated using imaging and quantitative approaches. Biologically, I am drawn to questions surrounding protein interactions and organization at intracellular contact sites, particularly how proteins are spatially coordinated to regulate cellular function in real time.
When not in the lab, you can usually find me teaching sign language, scouting for a good coffee shop, or playing the pipe organ at my not-so-local cathedral (my favorite piece is Interstellar).
