I grew up in colorful Colorado and completed my undergraduate studies at CU Boulder, majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Spanish. Enchanted by Boulder's ample biodiversity, I began my scientific trajectory as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Stacey Smith's lab, where I assessed trait differentiation within a forest using bioinformatic tools. 

Subsequently, I worked on a project in the lab of Dr. David Stock investigating the extent to which a DNA regulatory element called an “enhancer” was co-opted to drive the expression of morphologically novel bony dermal plates in Stickleback fishes. 

 

My interest in genetic principles, cultivated during my time at CU, led me to pursue a Ph.D. in the DNA-repair-focused Richardson lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara. There, I discovered and described a strategy to enhance gene editing efficiency through homology-directed repair by covalently modifying the DNA template used in gene editing reactions. 

 

I am excited to explore the interface between DNA damage responses and innate immunity in the Arnoult lab and to have come back full circle for my postdoc. Outside the lab, you can catch me playing left wing in a pick-up soccer game or enjoying tea and people-watching at a local coffee shop.