Dr. Jane Khudyakov is a new professor and researcher at the University of the Pacific. Starting at the school just this year, she’s taught Bio 51 and Cell Biology. When asked why she decided to come join us at UOP, Dr. Khudyakov responded that it was the eagerness of the students and the kindness of the staff that drove her here. 

“It’s really rewarding to teach people who are that interested in what you’re trying to teach them,” she said. She enjoys the small class sizes, and the opportunity to get to know the students, which is a lot different from her previous classes from when she taught at Sonoma State. 

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In terms of the research Dr. K does here, she studies comparative physiology where she researches unique strategies animals, particularly marine mammals, have for dealing with challenging environments— for instance, how they go for long periods of time without oxygen when they dive, or how they regulate metabolism while fasting, and how to measure stress in marine mammals. 

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Besides teaching and biology, Dr. K has a fair amount of hobbies including cooking food and exploring different cuisines, being outdoors, hiking, bird watching, reading books, and playing with her new kitten. 10-month-old Pickles, “looks like an adult cat but still acts like a kid,” and Dr. K calls him the perfect stress reliever. Around Stockton, her favorite restaurant is Market Tavern, but she enjoys food from all different cultures and trying new options. One of her most distinct favorites include Taiwanese soup dumplings from a restaurant in Arcadia, California. 

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Dr K. came to America at the age of 9 after emigrating from Moscow, completed her undergrad at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a large school where she attended as a pre-med. When asked where she switched from being pre-med to wanting to work in a lab, Dr. K responded, “I had a really awesome young female faculty that had just started and had a really small lab and she made a big difference for me wanting to pursue research.” For graduate school, she attended Caltech, and has worked in many different labs before finally joining us here at UOP. 

In addition, Dr. K is full of advice for science majors at UOP. “Don’t give up, even when it seems really hard,” she says, “It’s just one bad test, but you can continue and overcome.” If there’s one thing Dr. K doesn’t enjoy, it’s seeing students discouraged with themselves. She understands the difficulty that arises with this major, but is fully confident that with a little motivation and hard work, everyone can be successful.

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Written by Gureet Sandhu