Graduate Students

From a young age I was enamored with science. Just after high school I operated nuclear reactors for the US Navy and was immersed in how these power generators translate theory into reality, albeit in a rather dull grey setting. More  Once I left that job, I found myself asking what I truly was passionate about. I settled on one simple passion. I've always been fascinated by how life communicates. This sharpened in my undergrad research where I learned about growth factor pathways and how even bacteria can communicate with our own cells. Now I seek to understand how our cells process that information on a molecular level in Wnt signaling, to listen to outside signals though receptors and effect protein complexes inside. Outside of science I continue to look at life through my garden and enjoy discovering new things in a cozy setting. I am also an avid board and tabletop gamer, plus a few video games on the side.

 Less 

 I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland, traveled to the University of Cambridge to attain my MPhil, and am now pursuing a joint PhD in MCP and a MS in the BMI as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. Outside of research, I enjoy basketball, exercising, and tennis.  More My interests in science have certainly changed over time but I am currently interested in understanding the basic, macromolecular principles that govern basic processes such as protein-protein or RNA-protein interactions. I believe that this can uncovered through a mixture of bioinformatics and informed biophysical measurements. I hope to engage and learn as much as I can while I am at Stanford, so please feel free to reach out whenever!

 Less 

I grew up in the Bay Area and got my undergraduate degree at UC Santa Barbara. After soaking up a ton of (but not quite enough) sun, sand, and salt water, I returned to the bay and worked as a research associate/lab manager in the Manglik lab.  More There, I constantly patched up our leaky cell culture CO2 system and used yeast display platforms to study antibody fitness and hedgehog signaling. Applying to grad school as a first-generation college student and immigrant, I knew I wanted to find a department that housed diverse science and people – I found that within MCP. Outside of science, you can find me mentoring young students, snowboarding, or indulging in my guilty pleasures of drinking crispy cold PBRs and eating very spicy tacos.

 Less 

I chose to join MCP because the research in the department fits my interests, the faculty are amazing, and the students are smart and very friendly. I want to pursue high impact research at the interface of structural biology and cell signaling.  More Before joining MCP, I studied biochemistry at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. When I’m not in the lab I love to be outside hiking, running, and climbing.

 Less 

I’ve always been fascinated with the structural diversity that exists among proteins and how protein networks become activated by extracellular signals to initiate cell-to-cell communication processes that ultimately induce behavioral responses at the organismal level. More  I joined the department of MCP to develop a greater understanding of such mechanisms and strengthen my knowledge in genetics, neurobiology, and biochemistry. From MCP I have learned about a variety of techniques to interrogate cell signaling mechanisms and to apply some of these techniques to my current research. In the Goodman lab, I study the ability of the small nematode C. elegans to detect plant-derived compounds, with the goal of identifying their molecular targets and assess their potential therapeutic properties for mental health. Before starting graduate school, I worked as a tech at Quintara Biosciences, a DNA sequencing facility, and conducted a post-bac in the Zahler lab where I studied the mechanism of RNA splicing. As an undergrad and post-bac at UCSC, I had the opportunity to engage with members of the STEM Diversity Programs Office and to advocate for STEM diversity in higher education. As a graduate student, I continue to support STEM diversity in higher education by serving as a mentor to undergraduate and first-year graduate students through ADVANCE, Bay Area Graduate Pathways (GPS) to STEM, Stanford’s First-Gen Low Income (FLI) Program, and the Women in STEM Mentoring Program. Outside of lab life, I enjoy painting, bird watching, hiking, and cooking with my family.

 Less