Mackenzie and Tehila met in 2016 in the Church Lab at UT Austin when Tehila started her PhD. They spent three years working on projects together logging countless hours in the MRI center. In the summer of 2019, they realized it wasn’t just the giant magnets in the MRI machine making theirs hearts race when they were together… there was something more. Mackenzie left for UNC to start her own PhD and the two started a Texas - North Carolina romance. Just a few months into dating, in a turn of events that no one saw coming, COVID shut everything down and Mackenzie moved in with Tehila. They started a life together making the absolute best of what was arguably one of the weirdest and scariest times ever. In June 2021 they left Texas for NC, scooping up an adorable grouchy kitten on their way. Now they work together at UNC, once again taking on science and life together. *disclaimer MRIs don’t actually make your heart race or make people fall in love