She graduated with a BS from the University of Michigan, and received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 2006. Following postdoctoral studies at University of California, Berkeley and The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Dr. Sashital joined the faculty at Iowa State in January, 2014. Her primary research interests are the structure and function of RNA-protein complexes, and specifically the mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas RNA-guided adaptive immunity.