Kayla Williams, PhD
Post Doc
Biography
I am a postdoctoral scholar in the labs of Dr. Hanna Stevens and Dr. Rainbo Hultman. I earned my bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Merced, and later obtained my PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Oregon Health & Science University. My doctoral research focused on understanding how maternal obesity programs offspring asthma pathogenesis, with an emphasis on how metabolic dysfunction alters airway sensory and parasympathetic nerve signaling to drive airway hyperresponsiveness, a hallmark of asthma. Through this research training I developed a passion for developmental origins of health and disease and the mechanisms through which early-life environments shape long-term offspring health outcomes. Currently, I am interested in how parental physiological states before and during pregnancy influence neural development, behavior, and disease susceptibility across multiple generations. In the Stevens and Hultman Labs, I am expanding my interest in neuroscience by investigating how brain-wide electrical networks that encode parenting behaviors form and emerge across the transition to parenthood. Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending time outdoors with my cat, Keke Paw-ma (Palmer), trying new recipes, and watching anime and educational National Georgraphic YouTube videos.
