Joanna Albala

Dr. Joanna Albala joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in 1994 as a postdoctoral fellow with a Ph. D. and M. S. in Pathology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and B. A. in Biology from Bucknell University. During her time as a postdoctoral fellow at LLNL, Dr. Albala helped discover and characterize new DNA repair genes. After completing her fellowship, Dr. Albala remained at the Laboratory as a Senior Biomedical Scientist conducting research in biotechnology, the human genome, DNA repair, and cancer. In 2004, she left to pursue other opportunities as a Visiting Scientist at Harvard University, Adjunct Professor at UC Davis School of Medicine, and the Director of Research Initiatives & Strategic Partnerships at the University of the Pacific. She has given countless academic lectures and educational workshops and has served as an external reviewer for several well-known journals and agencies. Returning to LLNL in 2014 as the Manager of the Science Education Program, Dr. Albala coordinates a variety of student outreach activities such as the popular “Science on Saturday” series and Teacher Research Academy, a summer teacher professional development program.