Curriculum vitaeI am an environmental microbiologist and my main research interests are the impacts of toxic metals and metalloids on microbial physiology and evolution and, in turn, how microorganisms impact the speciation and availability of these metals.
My B.S. is in Biology (c/o 2014) from Georgia Tech. During this time, I fell in love with microbe-metal interactions, studying dissimilatory iron reduction in the lab of Tom DiChristina. I received my Ph.D. in Microbial Biology from Rutgers in 2020. My dissertation was performed in the lab of Nathan Yee and examined the role of microbial sulfur metabolism in the biogeochemistry of the metalloids tellurium and selenium.
During my time at Georgia Tech and Rutgers, I also found my passion for undergraduate teaching, with specific interests and work in areas such as such as integrating evidence-based practices into pre-existing traditional classrooms/teaching labs, using technology in the classroom, using course content to discuss diversity and social justice in the sciences, and increasing career-focused course content.
I worked briefly as a Postdoctoral Associate at Rutgers in 2020 before moving to a new position as a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Georgia in 2021. I worked in the lab of Mike Adams, studying the physiology and drivers of genome evolution of microorganisms at a highly contaminated subsurface site. I joined the Department of Chemistry at SUNY ESF as an Assistant Professor in 2023.