Research focus in Dr. Steven Chan's lab: Overcoming venetoclax resistance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) through the activation of the integrated stress response• Performed genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screens to identify genes essential in maintaining venetoclax resistance in AML• Developed long term ex vivo culture conditions for AML patient samples to determine the effect of drug combinations on leukemic stem cells• Performed cytotoxicity, flow cytometry, seahorse and western blot analyses • Determined leukemia burden in mice through in vivo luciferase imaging and bone marrow aspirations

Research focus in Dr. Andrew Mason's lab: Identification of breast and liver disease patients pre-exposed to human betaretroviruses• Worked in a collaboration to develop methods to identify patients pre-exposed to retroviruses• Performed qRT-PCR and western blot analyses on patient blood and liver samples• Developed ELISA and intracellular flow cytometry assays to identify retroviral-targeted immunity• Optimized methods to isolate and culture primary human cholangiocytes• Constructed adeno-associated virus-encoding shRNAs targeting retroviral genes to block viral replication in primary samples

Research focus in Dr. Mary Hitt's Lab: Design and characterization of replicating and non-replicating adenoviral vectors for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma• Optimized transcriptional and post-transcriptional targeting modalities to promote adenoviral-mediated gene expression in cancer cells• Designed and constructed viral vectors utilizing DNA software, such as MacVector, SnapGene and Vector NTI• Measured viral growth through qRT-PCR, western blot, cytotoxicity and plaque assays

Basic Virology (IMIN 324)

Introduction to Oncology (ONCOL 320)

Development of an adenovirus packaging system to increase the titers of vectors encoding toxic genes

Maintenance and genotyping of the lab knockout mouse lines