Cathy Garcia

Cathy Garcia, PhD (she/her) is a first-generation, low-income Latina with immigrant parents from El Salvador. She was born and raised in South Central, Los Angeles, and had the opportunity to attend a small all-women’s liberal arts college in Los Angeles, Mount St. Mary’s University (MSMU), for her undergraduate degree. During her time at MSMU, Cathy became fascinated with mechanisms of disease and cancer research. After her undergraduate degree, Cathy taught Biology laboratories at MSMU for four years, where she fell in love with teaching and supporting URM students in STEM. This led Cathy to apply to Yale where she completed her thesis project in the Muzumdar Lab studying how obesity is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer specifically, how beta cells adapt to obesity as a stressor, change their gene expression, and, in turn, promote tumorigenesis. At Stanford, Cathy’s will continue researching a small population of beta cells that express telomerase reverse transcriptase and decipher the role these cells can play in cancer. During her postdoc, Cathy plans to continue supporting students in STEM through mentorship. When not in the lab, Cathy spends time with her family and fur babies. She loves trying new places to eat, going for nature walks, binge-watching shows, and taking naps. You can also find Cathy at the gym trying to set new personal records for herself. Connect with Cathy: Twitter/X