As my thesis project for my master's degree, I am constructing a disease conceptual model focusing on the symptoms and impacts of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) on symptomatic women. This research includes semi-structured interviews with ALD patients, followed by coding of interviews and analysis for common themes.

Supervisors: Jessalyn Brower, M.S., C.G.C.; Eva Kaplan, M.S., C.G.C.; Erika Pavilus, M.S., C.G.C.-Provided genetic counseling both in-person and by telehealth in a high-risk clinic for a variety of indications including routine screening, carriers (including potential manifesting carriers), family history (including aneuploidy, cystic fibrosis, and adrenoleukodystrophy), and positive prenatal screens (including increased MSAFP and positive cell-free fetal DNA for Down syndrome) -Critically evaluated relevant medical literature; Wrote physician notes for patient charts-Observed multiple chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis procedures

As a teaching assistant for the upper level undergrad/grad student course titled "Cellular Proliferation, Senescence, and Death", I led weekly discussion sections and assessed student presentations on scientific journal articles, met with student groups to review scientific articles prior to discussion sections, and created and graded weekly homework questions and bi-weekly quizzes.

The Schwartzer Lab uses mouse models to investigate the link between maternal immune activation, specifically maternal allergic asthma (MAA), and the development of behavioral abnormalities in offspring that may be reminiscent of neurodevelopmental disorders in humans such as autism spectrum disorders. Behavioral assays including the social approach and reciprocal social interaction tasks along with automated video scoring using EthoVision allow for the accurate assessment of social interactions in these mice. In order to mechanistically investigate these links, my thesis project aimed to investigate alterations in expression of genes relevant to neurodevelopment in the placenta of MAA and control dams by using qPCR.

I assisted students with experiments, answered questions concerning the lab, and graded student quizzes and laboratory packets each week.

I prepared and led pre-lab discussions, guided students through neuroscience lab procedures, and graded student quizzes and lab reports.

The Pinto Lab focuses on the genetics underlying complex neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders. I was primarily involved in a project that aimed to ultimately identify how genes are differentially expressed and alternatively spliced in the brains of individuals with autism spectrum disorders compared to typically developed individuals. My project involved validating the existence of retained introns, one type of alternative splicing event, in genes related to neurodevelopmental disorders in a neuronal-like cell line and two postmortem brain samples.

As a part of the Amgen Scholars program, I researched in the lab of Dr. Steven Kernie at the Columbia University Medical Center, where I investigated the potential use of a neuroprotectant as a treatment for traumatic brain injury.