Jana Bilanovic

Jana is a current graduate fellow in the Victora Lab of Lymphocyte Dynamics, where she is pursuing a PhD in immunology. Returning to her position as LAB Jumpstart facilitator for a second year, here she goes into what excites her the most about working with students!

Where were you before Rockefeller?

“I graduated with a Bachelors and Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Heidelberg in Germany.”

What is something you did recently that you are proud of?

“I recently ran 5k for the first time without stopping! It’s a small win but it made me very happy!”

Share one thing about science that brings you joy.

“Trying out new things! It never gets boring when doing science, there are always new techniques to try to out and new things to learn!”

Outside of your research and science, what do you do for fun?

“When not in lab, I love to do yoga and Pilates with my friends, travel and try out new restaurants in New York!”

Jana participating in Science Saturday where she lead an interactive learning station about the immune system!

What are you most looking forward to when mentoring students with RockEDU?

“I love seeing their excitement when they do something for the first time. It reminds me of when I was in high school and saw fluorescent cells under the microscope for the first time and it totally blew my mind. I am also very excited to watch them grow over the course of our curriculum, they are so talented and such fast learners, within a few months their confidence blooms and they feel like scientists themselves, which makes us as teachers very proud!”

What advice would you give to incoming students?

“Ask everything you want to know and never stop being curious!”