About

I am currently a PhD student studying Biomedical Research at The Rockefeller University.

 

Previously, I was a Neuroscience Master's student working in the Pinar Ayata Lab at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC). At the Ayata Lab, I led a research project studying how microglia respond to foreign aggregates during neurodegenerative diseases. To answer this question, I collaborated with nanoscientists at the ASRC NanoFabrication Core Facility to fabricate a novel model for measuring the ability of cells to sense aggregates. Before joining ASRC, I was awarded a full scholarship to conduct research at the Weizmann Institute on the function of the SLAMF9 immune receptor in plasmacytoid dendritic cells. I was also involved in a wide range of other research projects including the molecular underpinnings of traumatic brain injury in Alzheimer's disease (NYU) and the effects of learning on songbird neurogenesis (Queens College).

 

In addition to basic research, I am fascinated by the prospect of translating science to solve real-world problems that affect human health. I have developed a spectroscopy-based biosensor concept that prevents food-borne illness as well as a prototype for a novel metal-nanoparticle air filter that removes particulate matter from polluted indoor spaces. I presented my prototypes and concepts at startup competitions and won several awards including at the JA Business Competition (first place), QC PitchFest (finalist), CLASH Startup Competition (finalist), and NSF/CUNY Innovation Corps Boot Camp (grant recipient). Finally, in striving to better communicate my science, I was a member of the CUNY SciCom Team and won the award for best general audience presentation at the CUNY Graduate Center SciCom Symposium. When I am not in the lab, you can find me on stage performing with my violin or in the classroom mentoring young scientists as a Teaching Fellow with The New York Academy of Science.