Bianca was born and raised in Italy and later moved to California to pursue my undergraduate studies at UC San Diego, where I majored in Human Biology. During my time at UCSD I joined the laboratory of Susan Kaech at the Salk Institute as an undergraduate research assistant. There I discovered a strong interest for research and immunology. After graduation, I continued my academic journey at UCSD to obtain a Master's degree, while working on my thesis project in Dr. Kaech’s lab. My research focused on studying a kinase and its implications in modulating T cell exhaustion in cancer. Subsequently, I moved to Hawaii for a year, where I worked in the lab of Helen Turner investigating the role of cannabinoid receptors in immune cells. Finally, I started my graduate studies at UC Berkeley, where I am currently a PhD candidate in the laboratory of Russell Vance. In Dr. Vance’s lab I work on a collaborative project with the Rijo-Ferreira lab,