As of January 2022. Dr. Galo Garica is a scientist at a startup in Berkeley (Arcadia Science) working to understand how protists undergo dormancy to survive harsh environments. Dr. Galo Garcia is a cell biologist studying how structures are modified to produce new functions in evolution. The wings of a penguin and an eagle are varieties of a common form with different functions, swimming versus flight. Similarly but at the microscopic level, cilia on the surface of the cell can mediate fluid flow or serve as antennas for cell-to-cell communication depending on their structures. Galo’s postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco, has focused on understanding how the structure of the primary cilium enables signals to accumulate for its function as an antenna. By studying the arrangement of proteins in the cilium with advanced microscopy Galo identified a cause for the rare genetic disorder Joubert syndrome. Galo examined a novel model to understand how signals accumulate in the cilium and how signals are lost in ciliary disease. Galo’s graduate research at the University of California, Berkeley, discerned how molecular structures are altered to modify the compartmentalization of cells. Just as actin can form filaments and branches to reshape cells, the septin cytoskeleton is structurally altered to reshape membrane compartments on the cell. Galo discovered how septins are able to transform between filaments and rings to remodel the surface of the cell. In future research, Galo may explore diverse subcellular contexts, such as primary cilia of fibroblasts and T-tubules of cardiomyocytes to decipher how molecular structures are altered to modify the function of signaling compartments.