About Me
SACNAS Outreach
While I am originally from San Diego, California, I attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale where I obtained a B.S. in Microbiology. In my undergraduate I discovered my passion for research and when it came time to apply for graduate school, the University of Utah was an easy decision. I joined the Molecular Biology Ph.D. program here at the U due to the focus placed on collaboration and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, which allows me to explore the beautiful mountains we live next door to.
Beyond exploring the great outdoors, I am also discovering the fascinating microbial world around us in Jessica Brown’s lab where we studyCryptococcus neoformans. C. neoformans is a fungal pathogen found ubiquitously throughout nature that primarily causes diseases in immunocompromised individuals. Within the lab my focus is on exopolysaccharide regulation and how C. neoformansis able to disseminate to multiple organs throughout the body.