Prof. Olga Makhlynets received her PhD in 2011 from Tufts University, and subsequently she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her current interests focus on fundamental problems at the interface between chemistry and biology. Prof. Makhlynets enjoys working with students and trained a number of young scientists, many of whom now pursue scientific careers. Outside the lab and classroom, she spends free time gardening, painting and making glass beads.