I’m a hybrid computational/experimental biologist with the lofty goal of understanding how our genome is regulated. My interests are wide-ranging, but some specific ones include (1) decoding gene regulatory network perturbations in human health and disease, (2) understanding the functional diversity that alternative isoforms add to gene regulatory networks, especially in the context of disease, and (3) characterizing genetic variants that affect gene regulation or post-transcriptional regulation. I love designing, analyzing, and performing high-throughput experiments to address these questions, and hope to have the privilege to continue to do science for years to come. I also hope to continue to work towards making science and academia more inclusive environments for women and minoritized individuals. Other loves: reading for pleasure (primarily fiction!), crossword puzzles, winning my local pub trivia night (a rare but exciting occurrence), reality television (no, I’m not ashamed), and cats.
Currently
I am a K99/R00 funded postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Martha Bulyk’s lab at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. My current work focuses on understanding the functional effects different transcription factor isoforms may have on gene regulatory networks—and how aberrant expression of TF isoforms may be associated with complex diseases like cancer. While I was strictly computational during my Ph.D., I have pivoted to be 50/50 computational/experimental during my postdoc.
Previously
I received my Ph.D. in Biological & Biomedical Sciences from Harvard University in November 2019. My Ph.D. work focused on the high-throughput characterization of long non-coding RNA regulation, evolution, and function.
Prior to entering graduate school, I received my B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. Hoping to gain industry experience and bolster my technical skills, I then worked as an analyst at Google in their Product Quality Operations team, where I solidified my passion for data science and programming. After three years, I missed science and research, and decided to combine my passions and go to graduate school to study computational biology. I’m always happy to talk to any prospective students weighing the decision to leave an [unrelated] industry to acquire a Ph.D. — don’t hesitate to reach out!