Sara, who works with core Broad Institute member Feng Zhang. focuses on identifying and developing novel strategies for gene editing through the study of non-model organisms. Her current efforts concentrate on the study of programmed genome rearrangement in the ciliated protozoa Oxytricha trifallax. During development this microorganism shatters its genome into hundreds of thousands of pieces, which it must precisely rearrange and reassemble to survive. By understanding how such complex genome architectures can be sustained in nature, she hopes to build a new platform for gene editing in mammalian cells. Before coming to the Broad, Sara completed her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at The University of Chicago. She went on to do her graduate studies at Harvard University, working with Xiaowei Zhuang on the development and application of super-resolution fluorescence imaging to biological systems.