Julia Gala de Pablo is a biophysics enthusiast with a passion for exploring biological systems through the lens of physics. When she is not in the lab, she can often be found climbing or enjoying vegan chocolate cookies.

She is excited about the Leadership Development Program (LDP) because it offers a unique opportunity to grow both professionally and personally. Julia looks forward to connecting with like-minded individuals and expanding her horizons in the field of biophysics.

Julia’s journey into cytometry began with her fascination for biological systems combined with a strong mathematical mindset. Biophysics allowed her to approach biology from a physics perspective, which she found particularly compelling. One of her first research projects involved analyzing the membrane flickering of red blood cells and leukocytes using a fast camera and bright-field microscopy. During her Ph.D. at the University of Leeds, she worked on biochemical phenotyping of live single cells using Raman Confocal Spectroscopy. This work introduced her to the potential of Raman cytometry for analyzing the biochemical composition of live, single cells.

Her time in Japan proved especially transformative. As a JSPS Standard Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tokyo, she worked in the Goda Lab on developing the fastest fingerprint Raman cell sorter. This cutting-edge technology, based on FT-CARS, enabled high-throughput, label-free analysis of single cells, significantly advancing the field of cytometry. The collaborative and innovative research environment in Japan, combined with the opportunity to work on groundbreaking technology, strengthened her passion for cytometry and its potential to revolutionize biological research.