“Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer.”
– Dan Brown, The Digital Fortress

• Position: PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering

• Favorite Paper: The use of new CRISPR tools in cardiovascular research and medicine (Nishiga et al. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2022)

• Favorite Sports Team: Green Bay Packers

• Hobbies: Golf, running, dance, reading, learning to cross-stitch

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I was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in the western part of the state. In 2015, I received a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Towson University and then completed a master’s degree in Tumor Biology from Georgetown University in 2016. During my masters, I studied methods to conditionally reprogram cells under the supervision of Dr. Xeufeng Liu. After graduation, I spent a few years in the industry and then transitioned to research at the Frederick National Laboratory. During the last five years, I have been cultivating skills in the field of genome engineering via CRISPR/Cas9 under the leadership of Dr. Raj Chari. It was in this position that I discovered my interest and passion for cell and tissue engineering and its possible applications in cardiovascular research. I will be joining the Kwon Lab this fall to complete my thesis research.