Rachael Massey
Graduate Student
Genetics and Genome Sciences
Rachael Massey is a clinically certified cytogenetic technologist (ASCP), graduate student member of the Institute for Systems Genomics, and 2023-2025 UConn/JAX T32 Fellowship Trainee. After receiving her B.S. in Biology from Albertus Magnus College, Rachael worked as a cytogenetic technologist at a clinical diagnostic laboratory. She later joined the ISG’s Health Care Genetics PSM program, working as a program representative and graduate assistant for Dr. Judy Brown. She completed her M.S. capstone project in the Physiology and Neurobiology laboratory of Dr. Alexander Jackson, identifying diverse neuronal cell types in the mouse hypothalamus. In the year before starting her Ph.D., Rachael worked in ISG Director Dr. Rachel O’Neill’s lab, assisting with karyotyping and assembling human and non-model genomes. She is an active leadership member of the Genome Ambassador Program, providing early exposure and access to genomic science and career development opportunities. In the Pinter lab, Rachael studies genes that escape X chromosome inactivation and the implications these genes have on sex differences and sex chromosome disorders.
