I am a third-year graduate researcher in Caltech’s Bioengineering PhD program and co-advised by Dr. Richard Murray and Dr. Victoria Orphan. My research focuses on mimicking natural biofilms through protein-protein interactions, providing a platform to imitate natural microbial communities as well as interrogate communities through integration of engineered sentinel cells. In addition to the use of engineered cells, my collaboration with the Build-a-Cell community has allowed me to apply cellular adhesion principles to synthetic cells, vesicle encapsulated cell-free systems, to begin exploring hybridization of non-living biosensing technology within natural ecosystems. Through my research, I hope to advance our understanding of natural microbial communities to better apply their capabilities to sustainability goals such as environmental remediation, sustainable energy production, and materials production.

My background includes examination of sortase enzyme's recognition specificity of unique peptide sequences during a B.S. in biochemistry advised by Dr. Jeanine Amacher of Western Washington University. Prior to my tenure at Western Washington University, I served 7 years on active duty with the US Navy touring several commands across the globe. Among my varied roles in the Navy, I managed Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-139’s hazardous material program, served as the Command Career Counselor, and managed the corrosion control work center. More recently, I was awarded the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship through the NSF GRFP, providing funding to pursue unique research angles.

I look forward to a future career translating synthetic biology capabilities to real-world applications and furthering our field’s efforts to solve humanity’s greatest challenges.

Download my resumé .