Olivia Leland

Archaea are highly adaptive organisms that have been found in the hardiest of environments. When a normal force is applied to certain haloarchaea, they divide into larger multicellular clusters over time. My research focuses on integrating biochemistry and soft matter physics to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between compression and multicellularization. Later, I hope to explore the distribution of forces within both individual archaea and archaea clusters.
I earned an A.S. in Chemistry at Santiago Canyon College while studying applications of aptamer therapeutics in regenerative medicine in Cocco Lab at the University of California, Irvine. After transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles, I researched nanoparticle delivery systems for short-wave infrared dyes in the Sletten Lab, and later received a B.S. in Biophysics. As a doctoral candidate in the Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, I aim to apply my unique background and versatile skillsets to study biological systems.
I am the proud owner of 250+ books (as of 11/16/21) and have the world's most goblin-like cat (Guinness has yet to get back to me).