Born and raised in Sacramento, Kristen’s research interests focus on the evolution and development of visual systems across animals, including squid, fish, and sea anemones, among others. She has run an independent research program for the last eight years after opening her lab at Harvard University. Kristen earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biosciences at University of Texas at Austin and her B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology and History from UC Berkeley.