Wil joined the de Jong lab last year and is coming back home to his Chicago roots after spending several years in Palo Alto, CA. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology and subsequent Masters of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. Wil previously worked with zebrafish studying the hypocretin neuronal circuit's role in narcolepsy in the laboratory of Dr. Emmanuel Mignot. Currently, Wil is helping study the role that a histone deacetlyase mutation plays in the function of hematopoietic stem cells and leukemia cells. He ran the 2012 Chicago Marathon to raise money for the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation.