I am working under Dr. Jiri Hulcr in the Forest Entomology Lab on genomics and transcriptomics of bark beetles and their fungal symbionts, with the goal of elucidating mycangial function. I am also building a database application to ensure better tracking of fungal cultures and molecular samples within the laboratory.

• Managed all communication between the journal and student authors, student reviewers, and faculty members involved in commenting on submitted manuscripts • Ensured the publication process proceeded as scheduled• With Editor-in-Chief, made final editorial decisions on all submissions to the journal

• Instructed students in peer reviewing skills during the fall semester (2021) and guided them through the process of commenting on real submissions to the Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal in the spring (2022)

• Completed an award-winning G.H. Cook Honors Thesis project related to genomic analysis and host colonization of bacterial strains isolated from the homogenate and excreta of wild Culex mosquitoes• Reviewed literature, developed protocol, and executed dissections on Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks for transcriptomic analysis relating to vaccine development in cattle• Flagged rural and urban sites around New Jersey for ticks as part of a McIntire-Stennis-funded surveillance project… Show more • Completed an award-winning G.H. Cook Honors Thesis project related to genomic analysis and host colonization of bacterial strains isolated from the homogenate and excreta of wild Culex mosquitoes• Reviewed literature, developed protocol, and executed dissections on Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks for transcriptomic analysis relating to vaccine development in cattle• Flagged rural and urban sites around New Jersey for ticks as part of a McIntire-Stennis-funded surveillance project under Zoe Narvaez• Characterized the genetic features of a Serratia strain isolated from a lab mosquito colony• Searched for endogenous viral elements in tick and mosquito genomes on the Amarel Computing Cluster, incorporating tools such as BLAST, CD-HIT, MAFFT, and self-written Python scripts Show less

• Led study groups and developed activities to facilitate student learning for the 11:680:390 General Microbiology course at Rutgers University

• Worked with the Computing for Global Challenges Project to write an annotated bibliography on the topic of quorum sensing, which will be used in creating a POMDP-based model for social evolution in bacteria

• Used CellDesigner to diagram intracellular processes involved in herpes activation for use in a computational model