Nicola Osgood

Nicola did not begin her journey to science through any traditional route. She was born in Nairobi, Kenya and eventually moved to central Arizona during her elementary school years. After graduating high school early, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. During her service, she realized that she had an insatiable curiosity for how things worked. Initially, she thought she would be best suited as a physician and, after completing her B.S. in Biochemistry at Arizona State University, she sought out research positions in industry to bolster her future medical school aspirations. Though she did apply and was accepted into medical school, Nicola realized that she had fallen in love with scientific research and that she yearned to learn more. 

Now nearing the end of her first year as a Ph.D. student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Program, Nicola has found that her desire to improve human health is well served in the Komor Lab researching functional genomics. Dr. Alexis Komor pioneered a type of gene editing known as base editing. Using this technology, Nicola interrogates the functional implications of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Ultimately, by studying these variants in a laboratory setting, Nicola hopes to remove the extreme racial bias present in current methods used for the classification of SNPs as benign or pathogenic. 

Nicola is supported in all of these endeavors by her phenomenal husband and three children. Aside from her research goals, Nicola hopes to show other non-traditional students that it is possible to pursue your dream degree and career at any stage of life.