I co-directed a career guidance training program for postdoctoral fellows that develops science communication and teaching skills. I oversaw and facilitated a teaching improvement short-course, as well as two semesters of in-class teaching opportunities at the K-12 and graduate level. The program emphasized techniques that promote active learning and creating a teaching community among scientists. This program is supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

My primary project sought to elucidate the role of innate immune cells during the initial onset of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

• Confirmed the requirement for CCR7 during the ionizing radiation (IR)-induced migration of cutaneous dendritic cells (cDC) by using CCR7 deficient mice.• Discovered that total body irradiation (TBI); induced the up-regulation of CCL21 protein in lymphatic endothelial cells and, increased messenger RNA for CCR7.• Showed that both local and total body IR exposure impairs the contact hypersensitivity response to hapten, which may be due to the reduction of cDC during the time of challenge.• Demonstrated that the intradermal injection of fluorescently conjugated antibodies was a novel and useful approach to quantify cDC for use as a potential biomarker to discern degrees of IR exposure.• Identified a dose and time dependent depletion of cDC, including interstitial dendritic cells and Langerhans cells, following both local and total body IR exposure.• Expanded the application of the whole mount histology technique for the mouse ear and other cutaneous tissue sites and also adapted a protocol for intracellular whole mount tissue labeling. Collaborative efforts• Explored the cutaneous microbiota of the mouse ear after TBI to examine the bacterial colony distribution.• Used a combination of IR and cytokine therapy to treat tumors implanted in the ear and demonstrated tumor dormancy.• Demonstrated the clinical application of a novel fusion protein construct for the treatment of tumors implanted in the mouse ear.• Used photodynamic therapy for the treatment of tumors in the mouse ear.• Expanded the application of the whole mount histology technique for use of frog tissues.