Bio
My scientific training spans over a decade of published research in the fields of vascularized bone tissue engineering, biomineralization, gene therapy, and spectral ultrasound. I earned my BS from UC Davis and MS/PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. I have aimed to form highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research groups at each level of training. This work has resulted in 21 publications, award-winning manuscripts, and multiple national conference research awards. My successful research career began during my undergraduate studies where my work in Prof. Kent Leach’s lab resulted in 3 publications and the Department of Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award. My graduate thesis under the guidance of Prof. Jan Stegemann resulted in 12 publications (7 as first author) in high quality, peer-reviewed journals in the fields of engineering and biotechnology. My graduate studies were funded by an NIH T32 Training grant and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. My graduate work culminated in the 2013 Outstanding PhD Research Award from the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) and the 2013 Outstanding Student Award from the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society (TERMIS). Recognizing the gap in translation of bioengineering research into clinical practice, I opted to pursue an MD at the University of Michigan to become the physician-scientist that identifies clinical problems, engineers the solution, and delivers it back to the patient to advance treatments and improve survival outcomes. My success continued through medical school with 4 clinical research manuscripts and Graduation with Distinction in Research, awarded to 10% of the class.
In the next phase of my training, I will complete my fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Stanford through the Accelerated Research Pathway by the American Board of Pediatrics. Prof. Sarah Heilshorn, Associate Chair of Materials Science at Stanford, will be my primary research and career development mentor. Together, we have designed an innovative approach targeting the extracellular matrix to improve survival outcomes in pediatric osteosarcoma.
