Dr. Velásquez grew up in Lima, by the Peruvian coast. He earned his BS in Biology from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina of Lima, Perú, after which he did research on resistance to potato viruses at the International Potato Center (CIP) with Ms. Elisa Mihovilovich and Dr. Merideth Bonierbale. He moved to the United States for graduate studies and earned his PhD from Cornell University working in the laboratory of Dr. Greg Martin on bacterial diseases and the tomato immune response after pathogen colonization. His post-doctoral work was done under the supervision of Dr. Sheng Yang He at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at Michigan State University and Duke University investigating plant–microbiota interactions and engineering new pathways of resistance to pathogen infection. Dr. Velásquez joined WCU in 2022.

Kaylan Hamilton grew up in Aberdeen, NC, and is pursuing a BS in Biology with a minor in chemistry at WCU. Outside of the lab, Kaylan enjoys film photography, baking, and spending time with her roommates.

Kacei Quiros Munoz grew up in Lincolnton, NC and is working towards completing a BS in chemistry as well as applied mathematics. She plans to attend graduate school in Ohio to pursue a masters in statistics and data science with a possible concentration in biostatistics. When not at school, she enjoys spending time with her cat, Roxy.