I am a first year graduate student in the MCB program at the University of Washington. I got my bachelor’s degree from Montana State University where I majored in Cell Biology and Neuroscience and minored in Math. While at MSU, I did research with Dr. Frances Lefcort where I studied various small compounds aimed at rescuing dorsal root ganglia neurons from a mouse model of Familial Dysautonomia. In addition, I spent a semester at the University of Oslo, Norway where I did research with Dr. Joel Glover to study the difference in transcription factors involved in the projection of cMVST versus LVST neurons. I also spent a summer at Fred Hutch working with Dr. Stephen Tapscott where I studied whether the transcription factor, DUX4, is present in a cell line of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. After graduating from MSU, I spent a year in a Mathematics Masters program also in Montana.

These research experiences and biology/math coursework led me to pursue a PhD so that I could combine my interests in biology and math in a research setting. As a graduate student, I am interested in learning more about using computational and mathematical methods to study the genetic basis of disease. During my rotation in the Ha lab, I am excited to learn how to apply computational methods to study the genomic alterations of germline risk loci in prostate cancer.

In my free time, I enjoy arts and crafts, hiking, skiing, and baking!