Mari Iida
Mari was born in Kobe, Japan. She is a junior at Nara Women’s University majoring in Neuroscience. As an undergraduate, Mari joined Professor Okamoto’s lab in October 2024. The Okamoto lab focuses on brain development, specifically the roles of cell shape, movement, and mechanical forces and Mari’s project aimed at elucidating the role of primary cilia in the apical process of the neural progenitor cells during brain development. In 2025, Mari joined the Iyer Laboratory as a participant in the TOMODACHI-Dow Women’s STEM Leadership and Research Program. This program provides short-term research internship opportunities to a diverse cohort of 10 female STEM students from Japan.
In her free time, Mari enjoys playing basketball, watching movies, and listening to music.
