Ola earned her Master's degree in Neurosciences from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and conducted research for her master's thesis at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School. There, she focused on developing patient-specific stem cell models to assess the safety and efficacy of antisense oligonucleotide therapy for dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA).
Driven by a keen interest in retinal biology and in vivo disease modeling, she joined the MacDonald Lab as a PhD student in October 2023. Her project aims to introduce the African turquoise killifish as a model for understanding molecular and cellular dysfunctions underpinning vision loss with ageing.
Outside the lab, Ola enjoys hiking trips, exploring London and watching cinema classics.