Jen Wacker earned a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Redlands in 2014. In 2015, she began her graduate work at Georgetown University, where she worked with Dr. Karah Knope on the formation, stabilization, and crystallization of tetravalent actinide complexes and clusters. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2020, her postdoctoral work with Dr. Rebecca Abergel brought her to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where her research focused on understanding the chemical behavior of rare and radioactive elements, like actinium, for radiotherapeutic applications. Along the way, Jen has used techniques like protein and small molecule crystallography, alongside X-ray absorption and vibrational spectroscopies, to illuminate the complex world of the actinides. She was a Clare Boothe Luce Graduate Research Fellow, a DOE Office of Science Graduate Research (SCGSR) awardee, and a Lindau Nobel Laureate Chemistry Meeting attendee. Now as a Staff Scientist in the Heavy Element Chemistry Program at LBNL, her future scientific motivations aim to investigate actinide coordination chemistry of transplutonium elements, develop radiochemical separations, and encourage younger generations to pursue a career in heavy element chemistry.