Science for Good

JP is a 4th year PhD candidate in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology at UNC Chapel Hill studying 3D chromatin structure and gene regulation. At UNC, he is also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, he is a HHMI Gilliam Fellow, an AIBS Emerging Public Policy Fellow, an ASHG Human Genetics Scholar Initiative awardee, and a UCLA CDLS Early Career Fellow. He is the Founder and Host of the From where does it STEM? podcast, which won a Spotify Next Wave Award in 2021 and was a Spotify Podcast of the Week in May 2024.

In the first half of 2024, he completed a 6 month internship in the NIH Office of Science Policy under the mentorship of Drs. Alissa Meister, Jessica Tucker, and Lyric Jorgensen. He is a co-lead of SCOPE (Science Communication, Outreach, and Public Engagement), a program dedicated to highlighting innovative science communication and public engagement projects.

He is passionate about bridging science and society and empowering others, especially those from minoritized and marginalized backgrounds.