Our History

Rebecca’s Story

Rebecca was born in Phoenix, Arizona, but spent most of her childhood in New Mexico, where she lived in Santa Fe and Las Cruces.  Living in New Mexico, Rebecca gained an immense appreciation for the outdoors and wide open space. She spent many summers in the mountains of Colorado at her family property  in the beautiful San Juan’s and has always loved experiencing the calm of the mountains. She has always cherished the times her family was able to spend together in the outdoors simply enjoying hiking, fishing, and relaxing. Rebecca also grew up loving animals, having raised almost every type of animal possible (dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, geese, peacocks, rabbits, and the list goes on…). Rebecca originally thought she would grow up to be a veterinarian.  Her love of animals is evident to this day, and she is beyond excited to have recently added a new Labrador Retriever (Sierra) to the family.  Rebecca also grew up playing music, being interested in science, and altogether enjoying her schooling since day one.

Rebecca has two wonderful parents, Tim and Nancy, who have been by her side throughout life’s experiences. Together, her parents have shaped her into the woman she is today, each imprinting different yet cohesive values in their daughter.  Her father is  someone who truly has good work ethic, sensibility, drive, and perseverance, and yet still cares deeply for his family. Her mother has also influenced the person she is today, always embodying love and compassion toward others.  Each of these values has become a core part of everyday life for Rebecca, and she continually tries to live up to the wonderful foundation her parents have established.

Rebecca also has an amazing younger brother, Sam. Sam and Rebecca have grown up together, and although they didn’t always get along as children (literally, there were battles and bruises…), today they have a brother/sister bond that is unbreakable. They have shared in so many memorable moments, have gotten into tons of trouble together, and somehow always came out loving one another. Sam is so important in Rebecca's life, and she has loved watching him grow into the man he is today. 

Rebecca traveled a lot while growing up, touring around the United States every summer to visit family and see the country. Rebecca gained an immense appreciation for seeing the world, and has now visited Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Mexico. These times will always be remembered as some of the most amazing in her life. Rebecca has also always loved schooling and learning. After high school, Rebecca continued her education at New Mexico State University, where she studied Microbiology and Economics after deciding that veterinary medicine wasn’t for her. During college, she made many wonderful friends, and loved being surrounded in an academic environment. She decided to continue her education in the sciences, and entered into a Ph.D. program in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of California, San Diego in 2004. There she focused her studies in virology, graduating in 2009 and meeting Tim while working on her studies. Rebecca is now working in the biotechnology industry, focusing on drug development in the field of infectious disease. Having spent so many years in school, she is excited to have a “real job” and is learning so much about the industry.

Moving to San Diego has changed Rebecca's life forever, and she immediately found a family of friends there.  She is so thankful to have met Tim while pursuing her career, and is forever grateful for all of life's moments that led her to Tim and her future life with him.

Tim's Story

Tim was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and lived in a house just a few miles from The Strip with his parents, Jerry and Cheryl, and younger sister, Kristen.  Although growing up in a town like Las Vegas surely presented some challenges to a ‘normal’ life, Tim’s parents made sure that he was raised with a strong set of morals and an appreciation for all types of people.  They also demonstrated and instilled a philosophy that hard work, putting others before yourself, and being a good steward of your gifts should be a way of life, something that Tim holds dear today.  This philosophy is, no doubt, a result of their farm-raised ancestry.

As Tim got older, he was provided opportunities to try a number of different activities.  He played soccer and baseball in a recreational league, played clarinet in a symphonic band, was a drum major for a marching band, and ‘dabbled’ in many other activities along the way.  All of these activities, however, led to some distinct experiences that became the building blocks of his later life:  Boy Scouting taught Tim independence, self-sufficiency, and leadership while providing the opportunity to truly appreciate and experience nature.  Regular trips to the cabin in southern Utah showed him that there is a wonderful natural world outside of the one provided by Super Nintendo and Knight Rider.  Working with his dad on the ‘cutting edge’ IBM 8088 computer fostered his understanding of technology (and his patience when working with it).  Playing saxophone in a jazz band and a jazz combo developed Tim’s artistic side and provided his first paying job opportunity.  Taking flight lessons as a starting point to becoming a professional pilot taught Tim a systematic approach to complex activities and, perhaps even more importantly, taught him that he did not want to be a pilot for a living.  Rebuilding a classic car with his high-school friend developed his love for mechanical things and provided the practical foundation for his engineering career.  Without the support of his parents, he would not have had these varied experiences which have shaped him into the person he is today.

Tim took the knowledge gained from these experiences and, thinking that he might want to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor, headed to the University of California San Diego to study Bioengineering with a pre-medical focus.  After a year of enjoying a truly optimum balance of academics and the beach, Tim realized that every one of his engineering classes was his favorite and shifted his focus solely to Bioengineering.  He began taking as many classes as he could in mechanical engineering, fluid dynamics, computer science, and physics, excelling in each.  Tim continued to strive for a ‘renaissance’ lifestyle, taking time to get his hands dirty on his Jeep, join the Sigma Chi fraternity, attend local jazz concerts, go camping monthly with the San Diego Four Wheelers off-road club, and spend time near the ocean as much as his schedule allowed.  In his latter undergraduate years, Tim was also blessed with a scholarship from the ARCS Foundation where he was supported both personally and academically by a wonderful family that Tim remains in touch with to this day.

Tim graduated in 2004, at the top of his Bioengineering class, and was offered a job with GlySens Incorporated working on novel products for treating diabetes.  This job turned out to be more of blessing than Tim knew at the time, because he was provided not simply a job, but a career at a company with inspirational leadership who have supported Tim’s personal and professional development tremendously.

Not content with just an undergraduate degree, Tim returned to UCSD in a Master of Engineering program for Bioengineering where he honed his engineering and management talents while continuing to work for GlySens.  Tim is forever thankful for making those seemingly insignificant decisions that led him to the graduate program at UCSD, because he soon met his future wife-to-be, Rebecca, who had just moved from New Mexico to start a Biology Doctorate program.  Tim graduated from his masters program in 2006 and, with the support of Rebecca, family, and close friends, has excelled in his professional career and in his personal life with Rebecca.

Tim believes that his appreciation for all of the opportunities, guidance, and support that he has been blessed with over the years is best summed up in a country song by Darius Rucker:

I don't really know how I got here

But I'm sure glad that I did

And it's crazy to think that one little thing

Could've changed all of it

Maybe it didn't turn out like I planned

Maybe that's why I'm such, such a lucky man

For every stoplight I didn't make

Every chance I did or I didn't take

All the nights I went too far

All the girls that broke my heart

All the doors that I had to close

All the things I knew but I didn't know

Thank God for all I missed

Cause it led me here to this