Lab Members

Francesca earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines in 2009 and Doctor of Medicine degree from the Far Eastern University – NRMF in Quezon City, Philippines. In 2014, she started her practice in general medicine in Manila. She was involved in research that focused on the genetic predisposition to certain cardiovascular diseases in a selected Filipino population and continued to be involved in clinical trial studies during her career. She joined the lab of Megan Hitchins, PhD in October 2019.

Rosie Alvarez received a master's degree in chemistry from California State University, Los Angeles, and has extensive experience in laboratory management and molecular biology with both in vitro and in vivo systems. She joined the Hitchins Laboratory in January 2018.