Research
I have worked in the Scott Lab since November of 2020. This is where I first learned about molecular biology techiques such as DNA extraction, PCR, and Sanger Sequencing. Since joining the Scott Lab, I've worked on numerous projects involving insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti, Drosophila melanogaster, and Musca domestica, resulting in four different publications!
I joined the Barstow Research Team in August of 2022. I worked with Sean Medin, a Ph.D. student, on rare earth element extraction and separation using Vibrio natreigens, resulting in a recent publication. Here, I learned about bacterial engineering techniques and really discovered how much I like biological engineering research.
I was able to be an academic research participant at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the summer of 2023, thanks to the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship. I worked in a Materials Engineering Lab and was mentored by Michael Ross. My project at LLNL also concerned rare earth elements, but instead of using bacteria, I was functionalizing electrospun nanofibers with a peptide to select for rare earth elements. I am so greatful for this opportunity to work full-time in a national lab, and use equipment I'd never interacted with before such as SEM, FTIR, and TGA. I hope to stay in contact with my mentors and eventually publish the work I conducted last summer.