​Marissa received her Bachelors of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Bridgewater State University (BSU). While at BSU Marissa conducted research on the behavioral and physiological effects of an altered circadian rhythm. She spent the summer of her sophomore and junior year being a part of two research internships at Scripps Research - Florida and at Stanford University as an Amgen Scholar. In addition, she is passionate about outreach and spent time working for the Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (CASE) at BSU which encourages STEM interest and literacy to the broader community.


Marissa started as a Neuroscience PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania in 2019. Here, she continued to get involved in science outreach where she volunteers for the Science Education Academy (SEA) which provides weekly science lessons to the broader Philadelphia community. She is excited to be apart of the Project SHORT team and looks forward to mentoring undergraduates interested in applying for graduate school.