Jess Hawes is a final-year PhD candidate within the Ashe Lab at the Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney. Her research investigates the molecular basis of epigenetic inheritance and how the environment can influence heritable gene expression in the model organism C. elegans. Her research interests include cellular memory and reprogramming, gene regulation and silencing, and emerging approaches to targeted epigenetic editing. Jess is passionate about science communication and outreach.