Graduate Teaching Assistant for Molecular Biology Lab, and for Genetics and Genomics Lecture

Instructor for General Chemistry I & II recitations, General Chemistry I & II Labs, and Microbiology for Allied Health Labs

Working with Dr. Christopher J Ferguson, a leading expert on the impact of violent media on Human behavior, I learned how to properly conduct research, write publications, and to approach topics scientifically and inquisitively. I conducted an honor’s thesis examining the effects of violent media on desensitization of emotional responses to real-life violence. Then, we generated a follow up study examining the impact of violent media on cooperative behavior. Both publications are linked below, including a third publication in which I contributed to data analysis.

Worked with Dr. Keri Norman (Research Assistant Professor, TAMU), in collaboration with Dr. Lindsey Holmstrom, at FAZD, an office under the Department of Homeland Security. Together, we analyzed data collected from an enhanced passive surveillance software which monitored the spread zoonotic diseases. The goal was to enable veterinarians out in the field with tools to quickly and efficiently document encounters with animal diseases. This data would then feed into a large pool of data organized geographically to track the spread of diseases. During my time on this project, I developed experience with STATA and Excel for statistical analyses. The results of our work were presented at the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense Annual Conference.

Conducted a 10 week research project in the lab of Dr. Leslie Griffith (Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Neuroscience, Brandeis), in collaboration with Dr. Nathan Donelson. I investigated the effects of miRNAs on locomotor behavior and sleep using a library of miRNA sponges generated by the Van Vactor lab at Harvard University. I developed several necessary skills for work in a neurogenetics and behavior lab including: drosophila population maintenance, micro-dissections, familiarity with locomotor/sleep behavioral assays, and MATLAB. The results of our study placed 2nd at the Lamar Bruni Vergara & Guillermo Benavides Academic Conference.