Josephine Watkins

Josephine graduated from Columbia University magna cum laude in May 2025 with a BS in Biomedical Engineering. She spent her undergraduate career under the mentorship of Dr Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic discovering her passion for cardiovascular research. This took the form of projects elucidating the E3 ligase of TGFBR2 in cardiac fibroblasts, a master regulator of fibrosis. She also contributed to projects that leveraged matured engineered heart tissues to better model and examine genetic cardiomyopathies. Additionally, Josephine spent time working for CorInnova, a biotech startup developing a non-blood contacting cardiac assist device. In this role, she focused on the design and risk assessment of an inter-operative cardiac sizing tool.

As an NIH OxCam Scholar, Josephine works under the guidance of Yosuke Mukoyama (NHLBI) and Christopher Toepfer (Oxford). Her project aims to develop complex cardiac organoids containing sympathetic neurons and vascular cells for the purpose of better understanding cardiac disease phenotypes and development. Afterwards, she looks forward to continue to engage in translational research to inform and improve cardiovascular health.

Outside of the lab Josephine enjoys playing sports such as fencing and pickleball and exploring cities’ hidden gems.