Gabriella Muwanga, a Neurosciences graduate student, joined the Tawfik lab in August 2020. She is interested in understanding chronic pain mechanisms and developing therapies for chronic pain through basic and translational research.  

Gabriella graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences from Makerere University, Uganda, in January 2018. Her undergraduate research experience involved public health projects where she analyzed the causes of diarrheal disease in a small village and assessed the risk of noncommunicable diseases among undergraduate students at Makerere. Upon moving to the United States, she joined the PREP (post-baccalaureate research education program) at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. While there, she worked with Professor Michael Caterina to investigate the role of a protein named Lin28a in neuropathic pain in mice.

Gabriella is passionate about teaching, mentorship, science communication, and diversity in science. To that end, she has been involved in mentorship programs like Ernest Houston Johnston Scholars, and SoLID. Outside of the lab, she enjoys writing, singing, drawing, Bible Study, and fellowship.