My mission is to leverage my vast experience in biological research, instruction and higher-ed administration, to establish innovative STEM opportunities for students, educators, biotech partners, and the public.I serve as the Executive Director of Academic Operations on the John D. MacArthur campus, with a mission to bridge research and teaching. I worked several years during my graduate and postdoc developing genetic tools and investigating the neurological basis of sleep and loss of pigmentation, resulting in over 20 high-impact publications in journals such as Nature Communications, PLoS Genetics and Current Biology.I have pioneered a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Program that trains undergraduates in CRISPR technologies, and other topics, and generate original data for publication. Many of these undergrads will incorporate their research in to thesis projects and matriculate in to FAU labs and graduate programs.I serve as a PI on a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant titled, Summer Intensive Neuroscience Experience (SINE). I direct this 10-week program that brings students from external colleges to our campus for an intensive research experience, with an emphasis for underrepresented minorities. I also direct two other 10-week research programs for FAU students pursuing studies in biology and computational neuroscience.I am the Co-Director for the FAU-Max Planck Honors Program - an exclusive program open to high-achieving students to gain research experience and advanced training courses in cutting-edge technologies such as two-photon imaging, super-resolution imaging and neurophysiology. Students gain direct training with World-Renowned Scientists and Nobel Laureates. In addition, I maintain several partnership programs with the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. I also annually teach an intensive course in CRISPR gene-editing technologies and a graduate-level course in Scientific Communication. Moreover, I serve in several administrative leadership capacities for the Jupiter campus as an extension of the Provost's Office.