I’m a graduate student formerly of the Kevin Eggan lab now finishing my PhD studies with Lee Rubin’s lab. I was originally a west coast person born in California and raised in Arizona before coming to Boston for undergrad at MIT, where I got my degree in bioengineering in 2014. Before starting graduate school I spent time as a Research Associate at the Broad Institute working on whole genome screening validation projects with the Cancer Dependency Map team. I shifted gears in my graduate studies to apply genetic editing technologies to the study of neurological diseases via stem cell-derived neuron cultures. Currently, I study the role of a nucleic acid binding protein called TDP-43 in ALS-related neurodegeneration. About 97% of ALS patients end up with TDP-43 in the cytoplasm of motor neurons when it’s supposed to be in the nucleus. I’m trying to investigate the effects of this re-localization on motor neuron function and how other proteins might serve as ‘modifiers’ of this phenotype. In other words, I’m looking for other proteins and genes that may positively or negatively affect neurodegeneration in the context of TDP-43 disruption so that in the future we may evaluate such modifiers and their associated pathways as therapeutic targets for the disease. In my spare time you can find me teaching and mentoring young(er) scientists, biking around the city, giving performances as a freelance clarinetist or pub trivia host (generally not at the same time), or cooking intricate meals for my wife while attempting to convince my two cats that they can’t have human food.