Research and Interests

Questions about how this world works have lived in my mind for as long as I can remember. When I was 6, my pregnant mom brought home books describing the development of a baby during the 40 weeks of pregnancy. I can still feel the fascination and excitement that stirred inside me as I read those books. There was finally some information about the world, about our bodies that was being revealed to me. However, those books just made me question more things such as "At what point did I become me? As a baby or child, when did I go from being nothing to being Missy?" Thus, I now realize I've always had an inquiring mind, but it has taken me some time to connect my mind to the research world. My childhood fascination with human development caused me to desire a career in medicine as an OB/Gyn. This was the only career path I knew of that could feed my interests. As a product of rural Mississippi with limited access to science opportunities, I didn't really understand what a scientist, research, or even a PhD was. In fact, I've only started to understand over the past few years

During my freshman year at Rice, I had no interest in research. I considered it to be boring and only pursued by people who look/are nothing like me. I had no understanding of how research worked. A few of my freshman classes broadened my understanding of research and laboratories. The biggest shift occurred when I joined Rice's Sustaining Excellence in Research program. Honestly, I joined because I thought it would be nice for Med School applications. Thankfully, the program transformed my perspective and understanding of research. I joined a developmental biology lab and fell in love with science (or just realized my pre-existing love).

But it wasn't until I took time away from Rice and completed an Emergency Medical Technician program that all the pieces fell together. During the EMT program, I realized my passion for medicine is not in treating patients, it's in the science that explains those treatments :)

I'm primarily interested in Developmental Biology and Genetics. I enjoy connections. And during development, there are a multitude of connections that must be carefully made in order for organisms to be what they are.

I'm interested in how things come to be through connections. The concept that I, a multisystem person, have evolved from a single zygote continues to amaze me. There's a pretty good understanding of that scientifically. However, I'm also interested in how religious traditions explain the development of our minds, spirits, and souls and their connections to the highly organized and specific physical body.