All plant cells are surrounded by a cell wall that provides mechanical support and allows plant cells to form complex multicellular organisms. This cell wall provides raw materials for food, textiles, building materials, and next-generation biofuels. My postdoctoral research in Staffan Persson’s group at the MPI-MP focuses on plant cell wall synthesis. This research is funded by an EMBO long-term fellowship.

My brief postdoctoral period at UBC was focused on finishing projects that I had begun during my PhD research.

UBC Biology has a strong tradition of commitments to active student-centered learning and to consistent evaluation and feedback throughout the term. As a TA, I actively practiced this style of teaching, and as a TA mentor, I helped new TAs integrate into this culture.2010 & 2013 - Advanced Genetics Laboratory (BIOL337) Presented lectures, supervised laboratory activities with C. elegans and Arabidopsis, graded quizzes, lab reports, and presentations for 22 third year undergraduate… Show more UBC Biology has a strong tradition of commitments to active student-centered learning and to consistent evaluation and feedback throughout the term. As a TA, I actively practiced this style of teaching, and as a TA mentor, I helped new TAs integrate into this culture.2010 & 2013 - Advanced Genetics Laboratory (BIOL337) Presented lectures, supervised laboratory activities with C. elegans and Arabidopsis, graded quizzes, lab reports, and presentations for 22 third year undergraduate students. * UBC Biology Teaching Assistant Award2011-­2012 - Teaching Assistant Mentor Facilitated TA orientation and training workshops for new and experienced TAs.2010-­2011 - Community Service Learning (BIOL121 & BIOL201) Organized 120 first & second year undergraduate students from 3 classes (BIOL121, BIOL200, BIOL201) for community service learning activities with local public schools (classroom visits and science fair mentorship), developed and maintained course website, designed a grading rubric for students’ essay-­ style reflections on their community service learning experiences. Show less

The leaves, stems, and flowers of all plants are covered by a waxy cuticle that protects that plant from water loss. My PhD research, supervised by Prof. A. Lacey Samuels, focused on how the lipids that form the cuticle are transported from their site of synthesis inside the cell to their site of biological activity on the plant surface. I showed that two ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in the cell membrane can dimerize in different combinations to export different classes of cuticular… Show more The leaves, stems, and flowers of all plants are covered by a waxy cuticle that protects that plant from water loss. My PhD research, supervised by Prof. A. Lacey Samuels, focused on how the lipids that form the cuticle are transported from their site of synthesis inside the cell to their site of biological activity on the plant surface. I showed that two ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in the cell membrane can dimerize in different combinations to export different classes of cuticular lipids from the cell. This research was funded by NSERC-CGS D3, UBC 4YF, and L’Oreal-UNSECO. Show less

Let's Talk Science is a national organization that works to improve science literacy by connecting university students and researchers with their community. At UBC LTS, our Mentorship Program collaborates with the UBC Trek Program to partner almost 100 high school students from Vancouver's Eastside with students and scientists at UBC. As Mentroship Program Coordinator, I recruited, trained, and coordinated a team of over 40 UBC students as they mentored high school science fair projects over… Show more Let's Talk Science is a national organization that works to improve science literacy by connecting university students and researchers with their community. At UBC LTS, our Mentorship Program collaborates with the UBC Trek Program to partner almost 100 high school students from Vancouver's Eastside with students and scientists at UBC. As Mentroship Program Coordinator, I recruited, trained, and coordinated a team of over 40 UBC students as they mentored high school science fair projects over five months. Show less

During my PhD I spent three months as a visiting scientist with Prof. Mats Andersson and Prof. Anna Stina Sandelius in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden. During my visit, funded by an NSERC-CGS-MSFSS, I isolated and characterized of subcellular compartments involved in lipid trafficking.

Pectins are commercially important plant natural products; because of their gelling properties, they are of particular interest to the food industry. The seeds of several plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, synthesize and secrete large amounts of pectin-rich mucilage. My MSc. thesis research, supervised by Prof. Tamara L. Western, investigated the role of arabinogalactan proteins in secretion of cell wall pectins in Arabidopsis seed coat cells. This research, in collaboration with… Show more Pectins are commercially important plant natural products; because of their gelling properties, they are of particular interest to the food industry. The seeds of several plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, synthesize and secrete large amounts of pectin-rich mucilage. My MSc. thesis research, supervised by Prof. Tamara L. Western, investigated the role of arabinogalactan proteins in secretion of cell wall pectins in Arabidopsis seed coat cells. This research, in collaboration with Joe Kieber’s lab at UNC Chapel Hill, implicated a small arabinogalactan protein in the regulation of cell wall synthesis via a receptor-like kinase and a cellulose synthase enzyme. My MSc research was funded by NSERC CGS-M and OQEF-M. Show less

My undergraduate honours thesis research, supervised by Prof. A. Lacey Samuels, focused on the role of the cytoskeleton in polarized secretion of cell wall pectins in Arabidopsis seed coat cells. My BSc research was funded by an NSERC USRA.