Mikayla Compton is a student researcher at the University of Western Australia and Perron Institute, where she focuses on investigating potential therapies for spinal cord injury. She earned her first-class Honours in Neuroscience from the University of Western Australia in 2023 after investigating the potential for in vitro reprogramming of reactive astrocytes to express increased neurotranscription factor NeuroD1 and subsequently transdifferentiate into neuronal phenotypes. Her work adds to a collectively growing understanding of the spectrum of astrocyte morphology and the importance of glial cells in spinal cord injury progression. Currently, her research aims to incorporate hydrogel scaffold technology with neural-promoting neurotranscription factors as a combined therapy for spinal injury. Outside of the lab, Mikayla is a widely-versed performing artist and has enjoyed gracing the stage as professional dancer, actor and aerial artist. Her passion for combining both artistic and scientific domains is evident in her choreographic works which showcase how art and science are universal expressions of the perceived world.