Introducing Isla Underwood: The Glam Queen of Genomics Who Transformed Pain into Power 💫🧬✨

There was once a girl who could not afford even one pair of shoes that she didn’t have holes in. That girl was me. 👟💔

I grew up in a little tiny dilapidated apartment with a single mom who worked three jobs to keep the lights on. We ate ramen for weeks, and I wore hand-me-downs with a retro flair (not intended). But in time, I always dreamed bigger, wanted to be bigger.

At 16, I got my first retail job in a thrift store. This was where I began learning to see fashion, to feel it. I would sneak in the back and sew discarded fabrics into something bold and fierce! My coworkers called me "Patchwork Princess," which I thought was silly. I wasn’t a princess, I was creating! That’s when I realized: style is not about the collation of money—it’s about a vision. 👗✂️

But life had not finished testing me yet. At 19, I was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder.  The doctors told me I would never walk properly again. I was in hospitals for months observing my own DNA sequences on a screen, asking why me? But then…I got curious. What if I understood my own code? Between chemo surgeries, I learned bioinformatics. Yep, I was that girl—bald, bedridden, and coding. 💻🧬

And now I’m here: a Genomic Data Analyst by day, and Fashion Icon by night, fusing fashion and science like nobody ever has. Not only is my closet full of designer pieces thanks to sponsorships 😉, but I also thrift—because real style has not forgotten where it came from.

I get DMs from girls asking how I "made it." I want to say: I didn’t. I fought for it. And if I can go from food stamps to front rows, you can to. 💪🔥

P.S. I still have serious anxieties about hospitals and doctors. At least I look good in scrubs. 😷💅