About

In June 2023, I started working as a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Alex MacKerell at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Pharmacy. The focus of my research will be on computer-aided drug discovery (CADD), particularly for membrane proteins in the context of cancer biology. Once I am estiablished, I will also try to contribute to other areas of the lab's research interests and think about my own ideas.

I am working towards becoming a professor at a primarily undergraduate-serving institution teaching physical chemistry and using a small research program to enhance the learning experience of my students. While mentoring undergraduates and guiding first-years through mini-projects that computational chemistry lends itself nicely to compartmentalized projects with minimal costs or required materials.

In June 2023, I finished a PhD in Jianhan Chen's computational biophysics lab primarily using a computational technique called Molecular Dynamics, with which we simulate the motions of biological molecules like proteins and use the resulting simulations to answer questions about how protein dynamics (aka wiggles) help them to perform their function. Amherst was my home for five great years, and I will remember the place and people very fondly.

I studied Chemistry and Physics and ran cross-country and track at the College of Idaho and graduated summa cum laude in 2018. The College of Idaho is a great community of students and has excellent, supportive faculty who challenge students in a kind, constructive way. This environment is what I hope to participate in and foster in my career as an educator. I was not involved in research at the C of I, but I participated in an REU the summer after my junior year at the nearby Boise State University in the lab of Rick Ubic. My project involved an exciting photovoltaic material called perovskites. Presenting this research at a national conference for REU students got me in touch with a faculty member at UMass Amherst, "DV", who encouraged me to apply.

I grew up in Jerome, Idaho, a small town of ~10,000 people when I was there. Here I am paddling a green kayak up to within a few meters of the base of the Shoshone Falls, a breathtaking part of the nearby Snake River Canyon. I attended public schools in the Jerome School District, and participated in cross-country and track-and-field. Education was always an important part of life. My dad was a high school science teacher, and my mom worked in the schools as an aide. Several other family members were also invovled in teaching, including my uncle who taught music and my grandfather who taught social studies and English. I was interested in science from early-on as well... although I have not studied paleontology as much as I did when I was really young! My first job was working as a lab technician at the Northwestern Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho collecting data on soil physics (i.e. precison mud-making).