Gabriela is a California native from the Central Valley and earned her B.S. in Human Biology from UC Merced. She trained at the NIH, where she studied sickle cell disease and gene editing approaches in hematopoietic stem cells using nonhuman primate models. She is currently interested in gene therapy, hematology, translational medicine, and addressing health disparities among underserved populations. Outside of the lab, Gabriela enjoys swimming and free diving in the ocean, traveling to explore new coastlines, developing film photography, creating stationery to share with friends around the world, cats, and eating fruit with Tajín in Mexico.