research

I am an astrobiologist, evolutionary biologist, and planetary scientist driven by one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone in the universe? From protein structure evolution to exoplanet atmospheres, I study life - how it began on Earth, how it evolves, and how we might recognize it on distant worlds.

Themes

Evolution of Life

How life originated on Earth, how its structures evolved, how it interactions matter, and how it survives in extreme environments

Life Elsewhere

How life elsewhere, in the Solar System and beyond, may be discovered (biosignatures)

Experiences

Protein Structure Evolution
Evolutionary rates of protein structure across mammals, including rate and lineage associated enrichments.
Master's Thesis

Computational analysis of protein structural features revealing evolution at highly variable rates across mammals, often independently of sequence change, revealing structure as a dynamic and functionally informative evolutionary phenotype.

Exoplanetary Atmospheres
Statistical assessment of spectroscopic contamination (telluric) corrections.
Cornell REU & Honors Thesis

Developed new statistical assessment methods for telluric contamination corrections to improve the accuracy of exoplanet atmospheric spectral analysis. Determined an ideal airmass range for observation proposals of exoplanet atmospheres.

Adhesion Biophysics
Single-cell measurements of bacterial attachment dynamics using optical tweezers.
Undergraduate Research

Assessed bacterial attachment rates using optical tweezers to investigate antibiotic resistance. Demonstrated that predatory bacterial attachment via Type IV pili on prey E. coli occurs orders of magnitude faster than previously understood.

Invasive Species Communication
Conducted interviews and analyzed quantitatively through a content analysis to inform invasive species communication. Graduate Research with NYC Parks Dept

Fieldwork and content analysis in Brookfield Park, Queens, New York City to provide recommendations for community-driven signage on vegetation management of invasive species. Conducted in collaboration with the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation.

Extremophile Metagenomics
Analysis of microbial communities post-wildfire and isolation from soil samples.
Undergraduate Research

Conducted metagenomic analysis, PCR, and 16S sequencing to investigate soil bacterial diversity and isolate extremophiles in wildfire-affected regions.