Danielle is currently a PhD candidate in The Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her thesis work aims to characterize the evolution of HIV tropism in the central nervous system. She has completed her B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from San Diego State University (2018). Shortly after graduation, she moved to Seattle, WA where she spent two years as an NIH PREP Scholar at The University of Washington where she studied adenovirus entry and HIV evolution in primates. ‍ Danielle has spent years studying mindfulness and she uses these practices daily. She has been able to combat severe anxiety and clinical depression, and thrive in a toxic research environment. Her goal is to change the academic culture from the inside out, beginning first with self. Her motto is, “A better academia begins with a better you.”