Joanna Wysocka was born and grew up in Poland, and she moved to the US for her PhD work at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. After graduating in 2003, she has carried out postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University. Wysocka’s laboratory is focused on understanding how the genetic instructions encoded by cis-regulatory elements are interpreted in the context of a cellular state and signalling milieu to establish chromatin states that are either permissive or restrictive for gene expression during embryogenesis. She has a particular interest in the molecular basis underlying cellular plasticity, commitment, and differentiation, as well as human development and evolution. Wysocka has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Searle Scholar Award, the W.M. Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholar Award, the 2010 International Society for Stem Cell Research Outstanding Young Investigator Award, and the 2013 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.