I am an NCI K00 postdoctoral fellow at Rice University, working with Dr. Cynthia Reinhart-King in the Bioengineering Department.

My research focuses on understanding the complex interplay between cells and their surrounding microenvironment, with current emphasis on the mechanics and biophysics of metastasis in breast cancer. I investigate how physical forces, cell-cell interactions - including extracellular vesicle conditioning and the transfer of materials through tunneling nanotubes, and matrix/biomaterial properties influence cell behavior, using both experimental and computational approaches.

I grew up in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University for my undergraduate degree. I pursued research early and wholeheartedly. Freshman through senior year, I conducted computational biomaterials research under Dr. Meenakshi Dutt, completing an undergraduate thesis through the James J. Slade Scholars program and becoming a co-author on our work analyzing the self assembly dynamics of polymer-functionalized capsids. Junior and senior year, I also researched under Dr. Joseph Freeman to help optimize the mechanical properties of twist-braid scaffolds for ACL regeneration.  I had the privilege to perform research in the labs of Dr. Laura Suggs at UT Austin and Dr. Jenna Rickus at Purdue University through REU programs.

After graduating in 2017, I returned to Purdue University for my Ph.D. where I researched epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity and fibronectin utilization across the metastatic cascade in breast cancer under Dr. Luis Solorio. I worked closely with Dr. Michael Wendt, then professor in Medicinal Chemistry and  Molecular Pharmacology, who was my co-mentor for an Indiana CTSI Pre-doctoral Fellowship in Translational Research and NCI F99 Fellowship, as well as having several collaborations with professors  in the Purdue Mechanical Engineering Department. At Purdue, we filed three patent applications, including applications for a 3D in vitro biomimetic lung platform to apply tunable and cyclic stretching to cells.

Through the IIE GIRE Predoctoral Award, in early 2020, I researched at the Netherlands Cancer Institute under Dr. Wilbert Zwart to test the use of rotationally-coated fibronectin scaffolds for precision medicine applications using pleural effusion-derived cells from patients with metastatic breast cancer.

In December 2022, I graduated and had begun my K00 postdoctoral training under Dr. Cynthia Reinhart-King at Vanderbilt University. In the 2024 summer, I moved with the lab to Rice University in Houston, TX, where I am currently a Future Faculty Fellow with aspirations to obtain a tenure-track position at a research-focused university.