CV
Research experience
February 2021- Present
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, SALK INSTITUTE
Advisor: Dr. Nicola Allen
Project: Astrocyte secreted factors in neurodevelopment and associated disorders
September 2014- December 2020
PHD STUDENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Advisor: Dr. Susan Dymecki
Thesis project: Dopamine receptor D2 expression in serotonergic neurons: sex differences and role in behavioral modulation
June 2012 - June 2014
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, HARVARD / JOHNS HOPKINS
Advisor: Dr. David Ginty
Project: Characterization of spinal cord dorsal horn interneuron subtypes
June- August 2011
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER, HHMI EXROP / JOHNS HOPKINS
Advisor: Dr. David Ginty
Project: Identification of novel genes involved in axon guidance
CV
Honors and service
Awards and honors
2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Diversity Enrichment Program (PDEP) Fellow
2024 Janelia Leading Edge Fellow
2022 BRAINS (Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience) Fellow
2020 International Society for Serotonin Research (ISSR) Young Investigator Travel Award (delayed due to COVID-19)
2019 Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Trainee Professional Development Award
2019 Gordon Research Conference Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Travel Fellowship
2018 F99/K00 NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award
2016 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship
2016 Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Neuroscience Scholars Program
2016 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
2012 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Exceptional Research Opportunities Program Capstone Award
2008-2012 Dean’s Scholarship, Lewis & Clark College
Teaching and Service
Chapter President, SACNAS at Salk, August 2023-Present
Mentor for Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Neuroscience Scholars Program (NSP), April 2022-Present
Board Member, Underrepresented Minorities Actively Supporting Excellence (URMase), September 2021- Present
Facilitator, Harvard Division of Medical Science Culture and Community Workshop, Fall 2020
Director, Harvard Women in Neuroscience, March 2015- December 2020
Board Member, Harvard Underrepresented Students in Neuroscience, October 2015- January 2021
Peer Mentor, Harvard Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program (SHURP), July 2018
Teaching Assistant, Neuroscience (HST130/Neuro200), Harvard Medical School, Fall 2017 and 2018
Project leader/Tutorial leader, Ed Furshpan and David Potter Native American High School Summer Program at Harvard Medical School, Summer 2015, 2016, and 2017
Graphics editor, Harvard Science in the News, June 2015- 2017
Discussion Facilitator and College Preparation Advisor, Harvard Health Professionals Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) for high school students, Fall 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Genetics and Evolution, Lewis & Clark College, 2012
​
​
Presentations
Talks
2023 Lewis & Clark College Biology Seminar Series (Invited speaker), Portland, OR
2023 Salk Molecular Neurobiology Lunch Seminar. La Jolla, CA.
2021 A Full Circle of Native and Indigenous Scientists in Quantitative Biology, UCSF/Virtual
2021 Writing Your Own Blueprint: The NIH Blueprint Diversity Conference, Virtual
2018 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellows Meeting. Ashburn, VA
2018 International Society for Serotonin Research. Cork, Ireland
2017 Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics Lunch Seminar. Boston, MA
Posters (first-author)
2023 European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease. Berlin, Germany.
2022 Salk Science at the Seaside, La Jolla, CA
2020 American College for Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Annual Meeting, Virtual.
2019 Modulation of Neural Circuits and Behavior Gordon Research Conference. Les Diablerets, Switzerland
2018 Society for Neuroscience, Diversity Poster Session. Washington, DC
2017 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellows Meeting. Bethesda, MD
2017 Control of Neuronal Identity II. Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA
2016 Society for Neuroscience, Diversity Poster Session. San Diego, CA
2016 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellows Meeting. Bethesda, MD
2012 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Exceptional Research Opportunities Program Annual Meeting. Bethesda, MD
2012 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Summer Internship Program Poster Session. Baltimore, MD