Thao’s here! I’m currently a UX Designer & Visualization Specialist based in Snohomish, Washington. I’m part of the Animated Cell team of the Allen Institute for Cell Science and a former member of the Mesoscope lab in the Bioengineer & Therapeutic Sciences department at the University of California in San Francisco.

On a typical day, I often find myself making illustrations and animations based on requests from other team members or collaborators who happen to be amazing scientists – every once in a while, I marvel at how lucky I am to somehow get to be their colleague! The work eventually show up on our Allen Cell Explorer and the former Pharmacogenomics Research Network Hub websites. I have also started to tap into the user experience design field with my growing interest in the human cognitive process and interaction with things.

I hold a Graduate Certificate from the Science Illustration program at the California State University in Monterey Bay, and a Bachelor of Science major in General Biology with a minor in Art-Illustration from the University of Southern Indiana; also a shout-out to the IvyTech Community College in Evansville as my first ever educational environment in the US that was so supportive for a young naive Thao – with broken English at the time, no less. Earlier than that, I was 50/50 proud to be a Biology major graduate from the Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, since I actually spent a substantial amount of time drawing comics while in school 😀

In my spare time, I like creating/organizing things: doodling, crafting, planting, etc. I also enjoy reading manga and sleeping. Wanna chat or hang out? Reach out to me at dot@thaopdo.com!