Jairo Villalona

Jairo originally hailed from a neighborhood called Washington Heights in Manhattan 13 years before moving to Massachusetts. At the Baystate, he completed his B.S. in Chemistry in 2018 at Westfield State University (W.S.U.). During his undergraduate career, he was part of a project investigating the presence of Lyme disease in Western Massachusetts. His interest in chemical biology was sparked by several interactions with his professors regarding protein structure during his time at W.S.U. Now, he finds himself in the Midwest as an ACS Bridge Fellow and is excited to learn more about biocatalysis in the Buller Lab! Some of his hobbies and interests include cooking, traveling, cycling/biking, video games, and watching sci-fi shows such as Doctor Who.