About Me
About Me
I am an adjunct professor in the Biotechnology Department and have taught Introduction to Biotechnology I (BIOL 1414) and our internship course (BITC 2486).
My teaching philosophy centers around the idea that curiosity should be rewarded within an inclusive environment that encourages students to engage, question, and explore. I aim to emphasize real-world applications in both biology and biotechnology to encourage the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while also providing students with an understanding of how these subjects have impacted society and their own lives.
My research experience has mainly been centered around population genetics and genomics using a combination of reduced-representation or whole-genome sequencing. During my PhD, I was able to work on a variety of different projects ranging from inferring close-order relatedness in parasite populations in rural regions of China, to understanding the evolutionary consequences of hybridization between different rattlesnake species in the western United States.
I am also part of an ongoing research program (SEA-PHAGES) where we are currently teaching students the fundamentals of whole-genome annotation by sequencing bacteriophage genomes and introducing students to the basics of bioinformatics. This course has been offered as both an internship in the Biotechnology Department and as part of the BIOL 1406 Honors course. Please contact me if you have questions or are interested in this program.