My Research Interests
I am broadly interested in studying host-pathogen interactions during intracellular bacterial infections. I found it incredibly fascinating that bacteria can invade and grow inside our cells and how we have evolved defenses against these intruders. The interplay between the immune system and the pathogen is complex and exciting and I aim to further explore this dynamic.
I started with Dr. Mary O'Riordan in September of 2022 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. My project focuses on understanding the metabolism of the host cells during diabetic infections. Our immune cells change their metabolism to quickly respond and fight off the invaders. Diabetes already causes altered metabolism in cells, and understanding the crossover between these processes can inform how best to treat these infections. Diabetic infections often lead to amputation and mortality, so understanding how to resolve these issues will be key to easing the burden of this disease.
O'Riordan Lab - University of Michigan
Hardy Lab - Michigan State University
I joined the lab of Dr. Jonathan Hardy in the fall of 2017 as a new PhD student. My project focused on how Listeria monocytogenes infection of the placenta changes the extracellular vesicles produced by the host cells, and how this can elicit an immune response. I found that vesicles from L. monocytogenes infected cells stimulate a pro-inflammatory immune response in macrophages. To our surprise, we found that this activation made the macrophages more susceptible to subsequent infection, and using a multi-omics approach, we found also found a lack of Listeria components being transferred in the vesicles. This work sheds light on how our body coordinates an immune response and how bacteria may take advantage of these systems. This work culminated into a first author publication in Infection and Immunity.
I joined with Dr. JD Sauer in 2016 to work on a project in collaboration with Dr. Anna Huttenlocher. This work focused on how
L. monocytogenes polymerizes the host actin during its intracellular growth. Listeria hijacking actin while in the cytosol is a critical step in its spread throughout our body, and we hypothesized that this hijacking had an additional benefit of utilizing the majority of the actin in the cell, preventing the cell from moving. Although I graduated before I could complete the project, this work could give additional insight on a Listeria virulence factor.
Sauer Lab - University of Wisconsin, Madison
​The first cellular biology research lab I joined was with Dr. Anna Huttenlocher in 2015. After spending a semester doing chores and learning about the lab, I started working with a PhD student to study the adapter protein ASC, a critical component of the inflammasome. I used a CRISPR system to create a line of zebrafish that had a fluorescence labelled copy of ASC, allowing for the visualization of the protein in vivo. I later switched over to a project in collaboration with Dr. JD Sauer so I could work with bacteria as well, which was becoming a growing interest of mine.
