I am currently attending the University of Texas at El Paso where I am working on completing my Ph.D. I work in Dr. Elizabeth Walsh's lab working with microscopic aquatic organisms known as rotifers. Currently, my project involves sequencing the full genomes of two Monogonont rotifer species, Epiphanes chihuahuaensis, and Sinatherina socialis, as well as identifying gene expression patterns in these species in response to various xenobiotics present in the Rio Grande due to anthropogenic changes as a result of the Asarco smelting plant. Finally, I will be observing changes in respiration of my target taxa in response to these same xenobiotics. I am also currently working on a project involving the description of cryptic species of rotifers in the southwestern Chihuahuan desert.