I am a interdisciplinary science communicator, educator, and scientist. I have a background in cellular and cancer biology. I also have built my science communication from the ground up, bringing growth opportunities to my Texas communities for more than five years.
I never through I’d be a cancer researcher, but I also didn’t know how much I’d love it.
Add the trypsin and watch as the cells detach from the plate, swirling around like stars in a plastic universe.
These cells have been used for generations to answer questions about drug therapy, metastasis, tumor microenvironment, and more. For me, they help tease apart a smaller piece of the story.
I hail from the great state of cheese and cold — Wisconsin. There, I completed my Bachelors of Science in Genetics, with a second major in Spanish and Honors in Research. For three years, I worked to understand the patterns that dictated the way small molecules stuck on proteins in the mitochondria (yes, the powerhouse of the cell). I worked with mass spectrometry, protein analysis, and some cell culture. I really fell in love with the late nights in the lab, pipetting while listening to music, and the intricacies of cellular regulation. It was this romance that drew me into graduate school and took me south to Texas.
My PhD research focused on small molecule-targeting of breast cancer stem cells, born from a desire to understand these stubborn, chemotherapy-resistant cells. Cancer stem cells do a really great job of rejecting treatment, laying low in a state of slowed cell cycle, waiting for their chance to regrow into a tumor again. I studied a natural product that uniquely targeted cells that were stem-like and metastatic, linking the behavior of this molecule to aggressive breast cancer subtypes for the first time.
I am also one of those scientists who likes being around people.
While there is something peaceful about being in the lab with my pipets and cancer cells, I also have interests that exist beyond the lab bench.
I have been building these interests since starting graduate school, including founding a graduate outreach group (Present Your PhD), being selected for the National Center for Science Education’s Science Communication Fellowship, and presenting my scicomm work across the country at conferences.
I have spoken with kindergarteners and encouraged them to see themselves as scientists, dissolving their Einstein-like stereotypes of scientists. I have shared my love of outreach and science communication with students in junior college, challenging them to question everything and to invite people into the conversation. Leveraging my strong organizational and planning skills, I have recruited speakers for department seminars and workshops, lead discussions about effective presentations, and created resources about science storytelling.Â
I am ever-seeking new ways to build community and help people access STEM.  I will continue to be driven by conversations, the desire to inspire, and my own deep-seeded need to explore the world around me. Research will always play a role in my life, but I am eager to play a part in the work that brings research into peoples’ lives.