Varja is a medical school graduate from Imperial College London (UK). She has previously done a BSc in Medical Sciences at the Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University ( Japan), with her thesis exploring the immunogenicity of high hydrostatic pressure decellularised scaffolds. She joined NYU and our lab in April 2025 as part of her medical elective to expand her research experience, and is working on hydrogel models of ECM viscoelasticity.