Career & Education

Through my PhD training, I gained expertise in molecular biology, genetics, and animal models. However, it also became clear to me how much could be gained for the study of infectious disease mechanisms through the use of bioinformatics, and so sought out the mentorship of Dr. Evan Snitkin at the University of Michigan in order to develop skills in the field of genomics and computational biology. In Dr. Snitkin’s lab I have transitioned to the study of C. difficile pathogenesis. Thanks to existing and fruitful collaborations with other investigators at the University of Michigan as well as other institutions, I am able to access a data set of both whole genome sequenced C. difficile strains as well as corresponding patient metadata. I aim to use the time under Dr. Snitkin’s mentorship to round out my skillset so that I can bring together my understanding of the basic biology of bacteria and mechanisms of infection with metagenomics and machine learning to accelerate discovery of mechanisms of pathogenesis. These mechanisms could then be leveraged to improve treatment outcomes.

Thesis Title -

To deepen my understanding of mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, for my doctoral training I joined Dr. Gyanu Lamichhane at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to study the biochemical and genetic basis of the structure and physiology of the peptidoglycan of bacteria. My thesis work focused on Mycobacteriodes (formerly Mycobacterium) abscessus; an emerging pathogen among cystic fibrosis patients, with rising rates of infection among other patient populations with underlying lung pathology. Due to this organism’s inherent drug resistance clinicians must prescribe long courses of IV antibiotics with high toxicity risks. In the majority of cases these treatments do not achieve cure of the infection. During my training I was granted an F31 which allowed me to pursue two synergistic paths of interest: generation of gene deletion mutants in M. abscessus, and development of a novel pulmonary infection model in mice. The studies using these mutants are ongoing by current graduate students in Dr. Lamichhane’s lab, and the mouse model shows promise to be a viable method for evaluating novel antibiotic treatment regimens and investigating pathogenesis of different M. abscessus strains.

Bachelors of Science: Major Microbiology, Minor Statistics

High Honors and High Distinction, cumulative GPA 3.87

As an undergraduate I worked on an Honors Thesis in the lab of Dr. John LiPuma at the University of Michigan. My project brought together concepts in microbial ecology and physiology to develop a system to study and manipulate cystic fibrosis patient sputum-derived biofilms in vitro to better understand this form of microbial growth in the lung. Some occasions of failure of antibiotic treatment in this patient population may be attributed to this state of bacterial growth.