Alexa Hudnut is an Optical Systems engineer at Illumina in San Diego. She works within the Sequencing Platforms group to develop the cameras, light sources, and lenses for next generation gene sequencers. Previously, she designed wearable glucose sensors at Dexcom in the Advanced Technology group. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). During her PhD she developed new medical devices for characterizing tissue biomechanics. She is passionate about creating closed-loop designs and an intentionally sustainable future.