Michael Vaill

Michael completed the Anthropogeny Specialization while he was a student in the UCSD Biomedical Sciences graduate program (PhD, 2021). During his doctoral studies in Ajit Varki's lab, he found that human lineage-specific changes in sialic acid genes affect the structures of polysialic acids and sialic acid receptor signaling. As a student in CARTA's training program, Michael participated in the Africa field course in 2017, and especially enjoyed the symposia and research rounds. He is currently continuing to work with CARTA as an editor for CompAnth, and with Dr. Varki's human-specific sialic acid research. Outside of science, Michael enjoys spending time outdoors; as a graduate student he would frequently find his way to La Jolla cove for long ocean swims, or black's beach for quiet runs. Nowadays, he is often found hanging on North America's largest chunks of granite with 6 ascents (and counting) of Yosemite's El Capitan.