I am a molecular neuroscientist interested in how genetic variants associated with major neurodegenerative disorders disrupt intracellular trafficking and organellar dynamics to contribute to disease progression. I use robust skills in human cell culture, advanced microscopy approaches, and classical molecular biology and biochemistry approaches to address these questions.Currently, I am a PhD candidate in Brian Polster’s lab at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where I study how disruptions in mitochondrial bioenergetics, structure, and mitochondrial-lysosomal interactions contribute to neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, and traumatic brain injury. I previously completed my MS in Biotechnology in Evangelos Kiskinis's lab at Northwestern University, where I worked on nuclear import and cytoskeletal deficits in motor neuron models of ALS.