Laurel Barchas, M.S.

February 3, 2018 /   / 

Laurel Barchas is a senior technical writer at Takara Bio USA, Inc., and a cofounder and associate director of the Student Society for Stem Cell Research (SSSCR). Laurel specializes in marketing, technical, curriculum, and creative writing, editing, and project management in biotechnology and related fields. She has experience in stem cell research and regenerative medicine communications, science, education, advocacy, and outreach. Laurel received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Integrative Biology at U.C. Berkeley, where she researched the impact of stress hormones on the brain’s neural stem cells. She has founded educational programs for underserved communities, including the Truckee/Tahoe Youth Music Program and the Stem Cell Education Outreach Program, a special project of SSSCR. Laurel has been involved in SSSCR since 2004, when she helped start U.C. Berkeley’s chapter and began educating various communities about stem cell research. Along with a team of SSSCR members, Laurel created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s stem cell education portal to provide teachers with the materials they need to engage students with the field and to build career development opportunities for older students. Laurel lives in Sunnyvale, California, and likes to visit her family in Truckee, California.