Mentor: Frank Schroeder

Education:

Boston College – B.S., Biochemistry (2022)

Awards and Honors

• John Kozarich Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2021), Boston College

Research Experience:

• Undergraduate researcher (2020-2022), Eranthie Weerapana lab (Chemical Biology, Boston College)

Current Research Activities:

Investigation of the mammalian microbiome is an active area of research, owing to the broad effects of microbially-derived metabolites on host physiology. However, interactions of microbial and host metabolism, as well as the ability of the host to balance the effects of microbiota-derived small molecules remains unclear. My research aims to explore this complex host-microbiome interplay, in particular, in the context of the mammalian pantetheinase enzyme, vanin-1 (VNN1). Recent studies demonstrate novel bile acid conjugates that regulate bile acid metabolism are dependent on the host enzyme, VNN1. The physiological role of VNN1 relates to coenzyme A metabolism, energy production, and lipid metabolism and is associated with a number of disease pathologies. My research employs a combination of targeted and untargeted comparative metabolomics in mouse models to clarify the role of VNN1 in bile acid metabolism as it relates to CoA degradation and other metabolic pathways, providing new insights to VNN1 associated phenotypes.