Lillia received her MSc. in Chemistry from Vladivostok State University in Russia, but quickly became attracted to Molecular Biology. In 2002, she joined the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as a researcher in pharmacology, where her work included cloning of novel kinases and elucidating their role in health and disease on cellular and systemic levels. In 2016, Lillia joined Martin Wühr Lab at Princeton’s Institute for Integrative Genomics. As a researcher and lab manager, she assisted Professor Wühr in establishing a brand new lab while preparing samples for mass spectrometry and aiding students with their biology and proteomics projects. Her happy times there gave her a taste for setting up new labs, and in 2021 Lillia joined Cameron Myhrvold Lab to assist in establishing a new lab and managing it for 3 years. A concert pianist and avid reader, Lillia spends her time outside the lab in a wide range of musical and athletic activities, including surfing, skiing, tennis, and competitive ballroom dancing.