EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

I joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in January 2022 and am appointed by the MSU College of Human Medicine (CHM). Prior to becoming a faculty, I engaged in diverse undergraduate research involving cell signaling in Drosophila to the evolution of human behaviors. Then, for my Ph.D under Dr. Haiyuan Yu (Cornell), I did systems biology research to experimentally understand how protein-protein interaction networks function in yeast, human, and rice and to develop a new massively parallel DNA sequencing method called PLATE-seq. My Ph.D research revealed several interesting interactions that might be related to epigenetic gene regulation, but I did not know how to even begin investigating that topic! So, I continued with postdoctoral work at the NCI with Dr. Shiv Grewal to study how transcription and RNA degradation coordinate to epigenetically silence developmental and environmental-response genes. Now running my own lab, I want to expand outwards again to understand how cells can retool their epigenetic programs in the contexts of stress responses and aging.

MENTORSHIP AND TRAINING PHILOSOPHY

Proper mentorship of students/trainees is a high priority for me. Mentees can expect training in three fundamental categories: (1) research, (2) teaching, and (3) scientific communication. These masteries will unlock many science-related career opportunities.

SCIENTIFIC OUTREACH

We do science everyday hoping to improve the lives of those around us. I am always looking for new ways to share our scientific expertise with K-12 children and other professionals (such as teachers) in our local communities!

COURSES PREVIOUSLY TAUGHT

• BMB 462 - Biochemistry II (Spring, undergraduate)

• BMB 490 - BMB undergraduate research (variable)

• BMB 495 - Heterochromatin biology (Spring, undergraduate)

• BMB 829 (module 2) - Recombinant DNA technologies and genome-editing (Fall, graduate)

• MCE Nutritional Rotational Study Group - Nutritional biochemistry (Fall, MCE medical students)