I lead multiple multidisciplinary teams of scientists to develop ovarian organoids and in other vitro tissue systems to generate viable human eggs from pluripotent stem cells.Specifically, I provide scientific leadership and direction for 2 core teams within our organization. This work includes high level strategy development and project planning to improve efficiency of experimental designs across teams and analysis and integration of data company wide to decide next steps to achieve long term goals. I manage a diverse group of researchers, including team leads and scientists from associate to senior level, and provide active mentorship tailed to individuals to help them reach their scientific and professional potential.

I built and managed a team of researchers focused on generating 3-dimensional tissue structures to facilitate germ cell development and follicle assembly and growth in vitro. I led this team to deliver two milestones critical for proof of concept 8 and 4 months ahead of schedule. While in this role, I also led our cell production pipeline, facilitating a 10x scale up in production in under 6 months.In this role I have mentored 13 researchers ranging from research associate, scientist and senior scientist levels, routinely managing a team size between 5-10 direct reports.

I work as a part of a multidisciplinary team generating viable human eggs from human pluripotent stem cells.During my time in this role, I developed a project to direct the differentiation of iPSC to a specific cell state and optimized related in vitro tissue formation. I developed assays to characterize cells including IHC, FLOW and FACS panels, and collaborated with computational biologists to generate, process and interpret bulk and single cell RNA-seq datasets. I led the scientific direction for how to benchmark these cells against in vivo counterparts. I also gained experience generating reporter cell lines using lentiviruses and CRISPR editing.

During my postdoc, I studied the role of epigenetic modifications during stem cell differentiation during human development and disease in the laboratory of Dr. Ken Zaret. The goal of my work was to understand how heterochromatin dynamics allow functional maturation of human insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells during normal development, and to use this knowledge to develop more mature beta cells from human pluripotent stem cells in a dish. Long term, this work aims to improve clinical treatment options for diabetes by improving the quality and quantity of beta cells for transplantation and by identifying therapeutic targets to prevent or reverse beta cell de-differentiation in diabetics.

Ph.D. Candidate in the graduate program for cellular and molecular biology in the laboratory of Dr. Jason Spence. My thesis work focused on understanding cell fate decisions during human lung development and using this information to generate in vitro models of lung development and disease from human pluripotent stem cells.

I used my expertise in science and technology to analyze and interpret academic invention disclosures. Specifically, I produced concise reports for a non-science professional audience that are used in patent licensing decisions. Reports include invention summaries, customer segments, competition landscapes, market analysis and prior art analysis. My analysis has covered inventions from a wide variety of research disciplines, including research tools, medical devices, diagnostics and software.

Assisting with Pulmonary research focusing on the use of high resolution, near-infrared optical imaging techniques to better understand and diagnose lung diseases.Managed a clinical trial related to the use of a medical device during thoracic surgery. This included all IRB protocols and reviews, management of participant recruitment and properly storing all study related documents. Managed all animal protocol designs and approvals through IACUC.

Worked in a clinical setting assisting patients to perform breathing maneuvers used to monitor and diagnose pulmonary diseases.

Worked as a Product Development Intern to assist in the manufacture of micro-patterned liver co-culture plates. Collected and analyzed functional data of cultures using ELISA competitive binding assays, PCR, and staining techniques (rat and human platforms).

Assisted in the research and study of animal behavior and sensory biology of the North American Lobster.Developed an individual research project exploring the localization of mechano- and chemo receptors in lobster antennules.