Jessica Whited earned a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri. She obtained her PhD in Biology from MIT, where she studied in Dr. Paul Garrity’s laboratory.  Her thesis focused on molecular mechanisms controlling the development and maintenance of cellular architectures in the Drosophila nervous system. During this work, Dr. Whited became interested in processes that may be required long after initial developmental events to ensure cells do not revert to immature behaviors, as well as processes that provoke such events in response to injury. She worked in the laboratory of Dr. Cliff Tabin (Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics) as a postdoc studying total limb regeneration in axolotl salamanders.  During this time, Dr. Whited developed several molecular tools that can be used to interrogate regenerating axolotl limbs. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the Brigham Regenerative Medicine Center, BWH Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and Harvard Medical School. Her lab is focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms enabling total vertebrate limb regeneration.