Postdoctoral Research

              University of Delaware; Newark, DE; Mentor: Prof. ET Papoutsakis      

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering; December  2011

University of Colorado; Boulder, CO; Advisor:  Prof. RT Gill      

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering; December 2008    

University of Colorado; Boulder, CO       

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering; May 2006             

University of Colorado; Boulder, CO; summa cum laude

B.S: Chemical Engineering (Biotechnology minor) at North Carolina State University
Current Status: 6th year, PhD candidate for Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Research: Currently, the use of bacteriophage as antibacterial agents are limited by the production and availability of desired phage. My research focuses on rebooting and engineering non-model phage, identified on the pathogenic bacteria's genome, to expand bacteriophage availability as an antibacterial treatment.
Interests: My goal is to get a research-based job once I graduate, preferably in the biotechnology field.  I'm a member of American Chemical Society (ACS), and Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE). I also enjoy reading and going to the movies.

B.S. Natural Science, B.A. Anthropology at Fordham University
Current Status: 2nd year PhD Student, Biomedical Sciences MD/PhD Program
Research: One of the major bottlenecks for adoption of bacteriophage therapy is identification of successful candidate phage. I study the use of bioinformatics for prediction and identification of novel candidate prophage for use in phage therapy.
Interests: On the completion of my degrees I would ideally like a career that would allow me to continue phage work from a research perspective while also being able to cross over with clinical practice, such as an infectious diseases specialty as a physician in combination with phage-based lab work. In my free time I enjoy playing the accordion and cooking.

B.S: Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University
Current Status: 1st year, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering PhD
Research: I'm currently working on developing approaches to overcome limitations in Clostridial engineering, specifically in Clostridium acetobutylicum. This includes utilizing directed evolution to increase transformation efficiency and establishing a non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) system to facilitate gene knockouts.
Interests: Playing volleyball and pickleball, taking care of house plants, reading, going to concerts