My research journey started in undergrad, where I joined a lab here at UC Merced as a UROC scholar. This experience fostered a great passion for research which brought me to the PhD program I am currently in. I originally started in a neurodevelopment lab which focused on understanding the key components which orchestrate the development of the brain, as well as how dysfunction or dysregulation of said components could lead to diseases – both neurodevelopmental diseases which could manifest from birth, as well as diseases that manifest later in life such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. I then switched into my current lab which focuses on developmental biology, particularly of the endoderm (one of three key germ layers which is primarily responsible for giving rise to the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems). We are interested in the core molecular and cellular mechanics that guide development of the endoderm, as well as how environmental stressors could cause developmental dysfunction. For my project, I aim to understand how a specific chemical used in agriculture could impact embryonic development, contributing to the broader conversation around how compounds we encounter in our environment could impact our health in either the short or long term.
