Olivia Sclafani

Olivia earned her bachelor's degree in biology from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara, where she conducted research in Dr. Kenneth Kosik’s lab on stem cell and organoid models to study tau protein dynamics in neurodegeneration and potential therapeutic approaches. During her time at UCSB, she was also part of the CIRM COMPASS program. Now a PhD student in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology program at UCSF, Olivia has joined the Sneddon Lab to study pancreatic islet development, with a particular interest in how human endocrine progenitors establish beta cell identity and how stem cell models can be applied to translational research. Outside of the lab, she enjoys traveling, spending time in nature, cooking, and music.