​Alexa is currently a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania and is pursuing a PhD in Immunology. Graduating from Saint Joseph’s University in 2016 with a B.S. in biology and minor in chemistry, she became a first-generation college graduate. As an undergrad, Alexa worked in a microbiology lab studying interspecies relationships and metabolic crosstalk. Before graduate school, she worked for three years as a research technician at Weill Cornell Medicine, where she became fascinated with the microbiome. Alexa is interested in applying her immunology training to understanding the role of the microbiota in the development of the immune system.  She is also interested in communicating scientific research to broader audiences in order to increase public participation with and access to science, with the hope to inspire future scientists.