Career Biography
I'm a scientist with a background in molecular biology, genomics, and computational analysis. My experience spans experimental research, high-throughput genomic data, and self-directed programming, with a growing focus on statistical analysis and data-driven problem solving. I’m particularly interested in opportunities that combine scientific understanding with computational approaches to uncover meaningful insights from complex data.
Truly understanding what’s beneath the surface propelled me into a science career, starting with my undergraduate experience at Gonzaga University. That's where there were big expectations and bigger workloads. Being tasked with understanding massive webs of complicated information is what engaged me, and I graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor’s of Science.
While an undergraduate I participated in research work focused on environmental science related to bees and microplastics, which was my first taste of field research work. With this exposure to environmental research, I moved to Seattle for a year and worked in a small commercial lab working on microbiology, and I was assigned to work on PCR for detection of GMOs in food products. While I was using my science background, the commercial work did not have the same engagement for me as a research or academic setting.
I began pursuing a graduate degree in molecular biology and began attending New York University in the fall of 2022. While at NYU, I joined Dr. Gloria Coruzzi’s lab in the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology to work on my master’s thesis, which focused on transcriptomics and molecular biology. Dr. Coruzzi’s lab specifically appealed to me because she had a large focus on bioinformatics and I wanted to explore this subject that plays a significant role in biological research and discovery in both academic and industry settings. Pursuing bioinformatics allowed me to expand into programming and performing statistical analyses outside of my coursework or lab experiments. These skills were instrumental in my ability to finish my thesis on developing an assay for detecting highly transient transcription factor activity in Arabidopsis thaliana (a tiny plant biologists use because it grows fast). Dr. Coruzzi gave my final thesis submission a “Pass with Distinction”, and I continued to work in her lab post-graduation.
I decided I wanted to be closer to the center of research and discovery in life sciences and moved into my current role at University of California San Francisco working on genomics research in the UCSF Colabs. In the Colabs I’ve expanded my skills both in lab work and informatics, as well as expanding into clinical research.
Statistics has been a critical thread throughout my academic career. Not just related to biology, but in many of my interests such as sports, elections, videogames – really anything with numbers, which upon analysis reveal trends that tell an entire story. The interplay between my professional and personal interests is important to me because it allows me to constantly practice skills that involve changing variables and measuring results. At this point in my career I am interested in focusing on analyses or project management within the scientific community where I can apply my wet-lab work and interest in analytics outside the lab.