Dr. Barna obtained her B.A. in Anthropology from New York University and her Ph.D. from Cornell University, Weill Graduate School of Medicine. Dr. Barna was subsequently appointed as a UCSF Fellow through the Sandler Fellows program, which enables exceptionally promising young scientists to establish independent research programs immediately following graduate school. Her lab investigates an additional layer of gene regulation, termed a “ribocode”, whereby heterogeneity in composition enables ribosomes to be tuned to translate specific mRNAs. This research adds a fundamental new layer of gene regulation vital for post-transcriptional gene expression, organismal development, and evolution.