Dissertation Title: PhD Thesis: Increased nerve-mediated bronchoconstriction in obesity-related asthma: the central role of elevated (2020)

Gina grew up in Kalamazoo, MI and attended the University of Michigan, where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering. During undergrad, she joined Brian Pierchala’s lab and worked on neurotrophic factors and their role in the development, maintenance and regeneration of the peripheral nervous system. Following graduation, she became a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Richard Leapman’s lab investigating new scanning electron microscopy methods for structural and cellular biology applications. During this time, she decided to pursue the career path of a physician scientist working at the intersection of medicine and research. She began the MD/PhD program at OHSU in 2016, and after the preclinical years of medical school she joined David Jacoby’s lab, where she is studying the molecular pathways and factors contributing to obesity-related asthma.