My name is Audrey Daugherty and I received my Bachelor’s in Microbiology and Cell Science with minors in Health Disparities and Spanish from the University of Florida. I grew up in south Florida on an agricultural tree farm and moved to Minnesota after my undergraduate studies to pursue research. I joined the IBP PhD program to work on translational research, and I hope to bring investigative research to medical applications for neurological and aging related diseases. The past three years I have pursued further post-baccalaureate research at the University of Minnesota in gene therapies for neurodegenerative disease, mitochondrial disease mechanisms, and rare disease. I am currently rotating in labs and learning about different topics of interest in the program. In my free time I enjoy bike riding, painting, reading, hiking, and baking new delicious treats.