Carinna Marie Householder

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland - College Park. I  am a visual system developmental biologist with expertise in zebrafish and other fish models. In my current research, I use CRISPR genetic screens to assess whether conserved transcription factors are involved in cell-fate decisions in photoreceptor precursors. Prior to graduate school, I received a B.S. degree from Roanoke College in Biology.

As a first-generation college student, I am committed to empowering students to be critical thinkers through teaching and mentoring. I have been a teaching assistant for the Neurobiology Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and for an introductory cellular and molecular biology lab with 250 undergraduate students. Beyond the classroom, I am mentoring several graduate students and three undergraduates who are working towards their honors theses through independent research projects at the University of Maryland.

I have been a member of the Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) since 2022. I served alongside Dr. Nicole Theodosieu and Dr. Victoria Prince as the course intern for SDB GetHIRED! program to assist the next generations of rising faculty.