ABOUT SARAH MCGUINNESS

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     Sarah grew up in Austin, Texas with a love for the outdoors and a penchant for collecting insects, lizards, and frogs. She started drawing when she three years old. Later, she attended Texas A&M University and received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Genetics, minoring in Art. During her time in her undergraduate college, she worked as a research assistant at the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, where she wrote her undergraduate thesis on miRNA expression post-ischemia. 

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     Sarah studied at the University of Illinois to earn her Master of Science in Biomedical Visualization. She completed her thesis: "Comparing Whiteboard and 3D Animation in Visualization of 'Neuron-like' Bacterial Communication in Biofilms." In her free time, she likes to build terrariums, collect moss, and play video games.

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    Now, she is a PhD candidate at UIC under Dr. Khalili. Her research involves computational modeling and molecular simulations on claudins channels at tight junctions in epithelial cells.