In late 2020, the Caltech Alumni Association Board proudly welcomed Tara Gomez-Hampton (PhD ’11) as its newest member. The 15-member volunteer board, charged with setting strategy and direction for CAA and representing alumni at Caltech, currently comprises graduates from 1974 to 2014.

After earning her BS in Molecular Biology with Highest Departmental Honors from UCLA, Gomez-Hampton continued her graduate biology studies at Caltech, focusing her research on genetic and biochemical approaches to mapping binding sites on the cell’s 26S proteasome.

“The Caltech community has always been one of the most important entities in my life, even though I graduated nearly 10 years ago,” says Gomez-Hampton. She currently serves as a medical affairs associate director at Biosense Webster, a Johnson and Johnson Company, where she develops innovative treatment methods for heart arrhythmias. “Caltech’s influence on my life has been profound and broad – from impacting my career opportunities, expanding my thought horizons, to connecting me with a wonderful network of science and policy influencers, current students, and fellow alumni.”

Gomez-Hampton has always been passionate about expanding the Caltech network. As a graduate student, she was an active member in the Caltech science outreach community and was named the Graduate Dean’s Award recipient.

“Anything I can do to help foster the building of the alumni community so that we can all feel the strength of this web of connectedness is my absolute joy and my way to pay it forward.”