I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Markey Cancer Center, under the mentorship of Dr. Christine Brainson in the Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology. Prior to my current work, I earned my B.S./B.A. degrees in Mathematics and Mathematics Education at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV. I then went on to earn a M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Kentucky under the guidance of Dr. David Murrugarra, specializing in control of Boolean gene regulatory networks.
My research interests lie in merging mathematics and bioinformatics with cancer biology and immuno-oncology to answer tough questions about lung cancer. My work involves
Developing personalized cancer models to guide precision medicine decisions
Defining precision therapy options for genotype- and subtype-specific lung cancer via stem cell biology and epigenetics
Enhancing cellular therapies for non-small cell lung cancer
Aside from math and science, I enjoy sports, the outdoors, and spending time with my family.
P.S. - Plaugher phonetically resembles: PLAH-gur (rhymes with logger)
"It is not enough to have good intelligence, the principal thing is to apply it well" - Descartes
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin
"The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go God’s love for us does not." - C.S. Lewis
"Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit." - Ronald Reagan
"You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott