Simone Kurial is a PhD candidate in the Biomedical Sciences program at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her B.Sc. from Brown University, where she trained in the laboratory of Dr. Edith Mathiowitz. Her undergraduate research and honors thesis focused on the optimization of polymer-encapsulated therapeutic compounds for bioavailability. She is currently a member of Dr. Holger Willenbring's laboratory in the Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research where she is investigating mechanisms of hepatocyte transdifferentiation and biliary tree generation as well as targeted gene therapy and translational medicine. Her ultimate goal is to contribute to clinically relevant treatments for diseases of the liver and bile ducts. 

Simone is certified by the U.S. Department of State for Advanced Fluency in Japanese, and has studied Japanese poetry, literature, film, and mixed media. She hopes to use her language capacity to foster international research collaborations and encourage cultural exchange. 

Simone is the winner of several creative writing competitions and has a passion for scientific communication; she placed 2nd in the 2024 UCSF Grad Slam competition. She plays African and Afro-Brazilian drums, piano, guitar, and trumpet.