My thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Gregory Riggins is focused on the development and characterization of glioma stem cell lines derived from individual patient tumors. I use these cell lines for screening drugs with the goal of finding new therapeutics for glioma patients. Follow up from these drug screens involves testing compounds in animals and studying their effects on cell growth. The ultimate goal of this research is to move new compounds forward into clinical trials.

I taught an Introduction to Immunology lecture and laboratory course to upper level undergraduates. The course objectives were for students to understand the role of the human immune system in the prevention and control of infections agents, demonstrate knowledge of normal and diseased states of the immune system and to understand medical treatments that utilize the immune system to prevent infectious disease. The laboratory course focused on familiarizing students with scientific… Show more I taught an Introduction to Immunology lecture and laboratory course to upper level undergraduates. The course objectives were for students to understand the role of the human immune system in the prevention and control of infections agents, demonstrate knowledge of normal and diseased states of the immune system and to understand medical treatments that utilize the immune system to prevent infectious disease. The laboratory course focused on familiarizing students with scientific publications and molecular biology techniques common in immunology. I developed all course materials, examinations and assignments. Show less

- Managed two teams of 5-10 volunteers who mentor high school and college students- Proposed creative solutions to reach short and long term goals for volunteers andstudents- Managed crisis events in student’s lives such as evictions, health issues, and familyunemployment by connecting families with community resources to mitigate the impactof the crisis on the student- Designed and implemented the IMP Wiki, an online collaborative resource forvolunteers, which… Show more - Managed two teams of 5-10 volunteers who mentor high school and college students- Proposed creative solutions to reach short and long term goals for volunteers andstudents- Managed crisis events in student’s lives such as evictions, health issues, and familyunemployment by connecting families with community resources to mitigate the impactof the crisis on the student- Designed and implemented the IMP Wiki, an online collaborative resource forvolunteers, which details procedures and information necessary to handle routine andcrisis situations with students- Responsible for managing tutoring sessions for 32 high school students, two days aweek for 4 years- Composed biannual reports on tutoring attendance and made recommendations tovolunteers on how to increase their students tutoring attendance- Administrator for online summer school classes for 35 students, responsible for studentregistration, progress monitoring, volunteer training and grade validation- Assisted students with SAT prep, college applications and career counseling- Responsible for increasing visibility of the organization to the public through socialmedia, newsletter editing, photo collection and donor recognition Show less

I was selected for admission to the Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at Duke University. As a PREP scholar, I completed an independent research project in the laboratory of Dr. Anne West in the Department of Neuroscience. My project focused on CaRF, a transcription factor that regulates transcription Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor. This work was published in 2010 in the Journal of Neuroscience.