Full Research Description
I studied Biology at New College of Florida, a small liberal arts honors college in Sarasota. I completed my undergraduate thesis research at the University of Florida’s Medical Entomology Laboratory, investigating the impact of larval nutrition on the ability of adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to become infected with and transmit the Zika virus.
I then worked as an IRTA research fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. At the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, I studied the role of arthropod salivary gland proteins in blood feeding and disease transmission. Specifically, my work identified the binding site of a unique protein, which evolved to enhance mammalian blood feeding in Culex mosquitoes, by solving the crystal structure to 1.97Å resolution using X-ray diffraction (PDB = 6V4C). I am also a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) for 2020.
I enjoy making people laugh, riding my bike, traveling, and playing with dogs.
