Joanna Wysocka

Joanna Wysocka, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology and the Department of Developmental Biology at Stanford University and a Howard Hughes Medical Insitute Investigator. Joanna was born and grew up in Poland, and she moved to the US for her PhD work at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory with Dr. Winship Herr. After graduating in 2003, she has done postdoctoral training at the Rockefeller University with Dr. David Allis. Research Dr. Wysocka’s laboratory is focused on understanding how the genetic instructions encoded by cis-regulatory elements are interpreted in the context of a cellular state and signaling milieu to establish chromatin states either permissive or restrictive for gene expression during embryogenesis. She has a particular interest in the molecular basis underlying cellular plasticity, commitment and differentiation, as well as human development and evolution. Dr. Wysocka is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Searle Scholar Award, W.M. Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholar Award, 2010 International Society for Stem Cell Research Outstanding Young Investigator Award, and 2013 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.