Katrina grew up between the Cascades and the Puget Sound in Washington state where she cultivated a passion for the life sciences through years of tide pooling and admiring sea creatures at Chinese restaurants. A susceptibility to getting seasick rerouted Katrina to the lab bench, where she studied the neuronal circuitry of nematodes in the lab of Jacqueline Rose at Western Washington University. She also spent a summer studying antifungal immunity in the lab of Tobias Hohl at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, which inspired her to pursue a PhD in Immunology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Katrina completed her PhD in the lab of John Schoggins, where she studied how individual interferon-stimulated genes contribute to cell-intrinsic antiviral defenses against respiratory viruses. Her interest in lung mucosal immunity and a desire to scratch the fungal itch led Katrina back to the Hohl lab for postdoctoral training, where she is studying how respiratory coronavirus infection impairs antifungal immune responses. When not in lab, Katrina enjoys exploring the city, watching live music, and looking for the best places to eat spicy food.