More About Me

Mom chasing PhDreams

I always knew I wanted to return to school to get my PhD, but I never thought I would be doing it at this stage of my life, facing so many unique challenges. I earned my B.S. in Biology from Roberts Wesleyan College (Rochester, NY) 10 years before starting my PhD in Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. In between those years, I worked as a research technician at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse University, and RPI.

I have the absolute privilege of raising two beautiful children, ages 7 & 9, who I co-parent and spend 50% time with. They are the lights in my life who keep me focused on what is important. Their energy can't help but be contagious, and their hugs make every day better (I definitely am not humbled by their indifference towards my research!).

I have no idea exactly what my future career looks like, but I have a few thoughts in mind. I am passionate about integrating my art into the science I do (check out my artwork pages!), and using that platform as a way to communicate science to a broad audience. Microscopy is an awesome artform I want to explore further. I also want to use my experience as a graduate student to help others along in their grad school journey. Teaching, in some form, is also not out of the question.