I recently graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and a Spanish minor in Spring of 2022. I plan to attend graduate school to study immunology in a few years, but for now I'm focused on getting more research (and life) experience. Throughout high school, I was involved in an organization called The Faraday Society (named in honor of scientist Michael Faraday). We performed awesome chemistry demonstrations for a variety of audiences, from elementary school kids to the general public. This gave me unexpected training in how to tailor an explanation to the audience receiving the information, while also keeping their attention and helping them have fun (okay, okay... the fiery explosions might've helped a bit).During my undergraduate studies, I worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA) for the Undergraduate Biology Lab Department, teaching introductory biology labs as well as biology labs for non-biology majors. From the perspective of student and teacher, it seems that having an instructor who is enthusiastic about the material and fosters their students' curiosity can make all the difference.

My research interests involve disentangling the biological mechanisms underlying the association between stress/adversity during early development and increased overall risk of morbidity later in life. I'm also interested in understanding how the central nervous system (CNS) and one's emotional/psychological state influence each other.