Alumni Spotlight: Kara Johnson, 2013 B.S.

Scientist

Omniome Inc.

Kara graduated from UC Davis in 2013 with her B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering before going on to complete a Ph.D. in Bioengineering with a specialty in Multi-Scale Biology at UC San Diego in 2020. Now in industry at Omniome, she contributes as a Scientist on the Sequencing Biochemistry team. Her team at Omniome is developing a high accuracy sequencing technology to enable clinical applications. For her, the EBS program at Davis integrated engineering and biology in a highly effective way that prepared her not only for the rigors of graduate work, but also for the fast paced and interdisciplinary environment of a biotech startup. In addition, the relationships she built with faculty and other students (including those who are above and below her on this list!) continue to be valuable to her to this day. Outside of her job, she continues to invest in interests that were founded at UC Davis, including hands-on STEM education in K-12 classrooms.