Dr. Vicky Garcia-Hernandez received her PhD degree in Cellular and Molecular Physiology from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV, Mexico) where she studied the regulation of claudins in the epithelia and she was an instructor in the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico City. Dr. Garcia-Hernandez is currently the lab manager and a Research Lab Specialist in the Parkos and Nusrat group. Her professional interests focus on the epithelia function and regulation, cellular signaling and physiopathology during inflammatory conditions. Her current projects include: A) role of stem cell factor (SCF) in regulation of intestinal mucosal homeostasis and repair after inflammation, and B) regulation of intercellular junctional proteins in the context of epithelial biology, barrier function and pathogenesis of mucosal inflammation in the gut.