I am fascinated by dynamic biological systems. The way cells, tissues, and molecules move under a microscope was the focus of my doctoral thesis and continues to be a theme in my postdoctoral research. I am currently focused on how groups of cells move together during the process of breast cancer metastasis, and I am also an active collaborator in research on cytoskeletal proteins, circulating tumor cells, and extracellular environments.
My educational background in engineering and physics gives me the perspective and skills to quantitatively analyze complex biological systems. My experience collaborating with biological researchers and clinicians has taught me the importance of cross-disciplinary teams in tackling bioscience questions. I enjoy making connections between experimental science and computational data analysis to further our understanding of biological problems such as cancer progression
In the summer of 2013, I was part of a team that developed and led a workshop on MATLAB basics and image analysis. I was a lead instructor at this annual workshop for five years, and have continued to volunteer at the event to help teach undergraduate students and NIH researchers basic coding skills and data analytics tools for cell biology.
As part of the LabTV project, I was interviewed for a short video intended to inspire high school students to pursue science careers. Kai Keffe, who interviewed and produced the video, was honored at the Tribeca Film Festival for his work. The interview can be viewed on YouTube.
I was part of a L'École de Physique des Houches Summer School video about much fun science can be.
See the research tab for more or check out an updated publications list on my Google Scholar profile.
When I'm not in the lab, I also enjoy trying new recipes or spending time on assorted crochet projects.