Mentor: Pamela Chang

Education:

University of South Florida, Microbiology (B.S), August 2009 – May 2013
University of South Florida: Morsani College of Medicine, Molecular Medicine (M.S), August 2014 – August 2015

Awards:

Cornell University Presidential Life Sciences Fellow
American Association for Cancer Research Bardos Award
USF 2011 Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster Winner
USF Director’s Award

Research Experience:

USF,  chemotherapeutic delivery systems (Undegrad, 3 years)
USF, investigating biofilm regulation and cryptic phages in B. henselae (Masters, 1 year)

Current Research Activities:

The gut microbiome is an essential and highly complex microbial community whose connection with the host is still largely uncharacterized. We aim to identify mechanisms of cross-talk between the gut microbiome and the human immune system via biochemical and cell biological methods. The focus of my research is to characterize the effects of secondary metabolites produced by the gut microbiome on the host immune system