Kalen Bunch

Background

About Kalen Bunch

My curiosity in the life sciences arose as I wandered the woods and fields around my home in Iowa, encountering all sorts of animals and plants. This wandering led to wondering. It amazed me how the four-lettered language of DNA could give rise to such complexity. I pondered a world where we could decipher these sequences and write using the language of life. While I was moved by the intricacy of nature here, I had not always lived in the Midwest. I was born in Tsukuba, Japan, and had spent years living in Shanghai, China where I fostered friendships with in an international community. Later, in Iowa, I felt called back to a more diverse community like this. At UCLA, I found just that and now major in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. While aiding in gene expression and spliceosome research in Dr. Tracy Johnson’s lab, the value of my interpersonal skills on the frontiers of science became apparent. Through research, my desire to understand the natural world could be channeled to fight devastating diseases like ALS, heart failure, and cancer. Through a multicultural education, I can ensure that my curiosity and creativity in the lab lead to novel treatments and therapies for the international communities that I have grown to love. I firmly believe that the future of medicine hinges on an understanding of gene regulation. Therefore, we must not be afraid to step up to the challenge and decipher this cryptic language of life.