Joan Pulupa fell in love with microscopy early in her scientific career and never looked back. Joan is interested in how genome organization and nuclear compartmentalization inform gene expression. Today, she uses live-cell microscopy to interrogate the mechanism of olfactory receptor gene regulation in primary olfactory neurons.
After attending Goucher College (Baltimore, MD) and graduating with degrees in physics and biological science, she followed her fascination with molecular machines to study with Sanford M. Simon at Rockefeller University (New York, NY) for graduate school. During her PhD, she developed new ways to monitor protein dynamics in living cells with polarized light microscopy to reveal nuclear pore biology.
Throughout her career, Dr. Pulupa has mentored many students with diverse backgrounds and is committed to building an inclusive laboratory where students and trainees can come together to do science, learn from each other, and grow into future leaders. Outside of the lab, Joan enjoys playing tennis, cooking and baking for friends and family, and going on hikes with her dog.