Research

PhD Student, Arizona State University

Advisor: Dr. Masmudur Rahman

06/2024 – Present

Determining the mechanism of the DExD/H-box RNA helicase DHX29 in supporting leporipoxvirus replication in transformed and cancer cell lines
Characterizing the immunological changes induced by oncolytic myxoma virus on the tumor microenvironment in a syngeneic mouse model
Establishing the anticancer efficacy of oncolytic myxoma virus in combination therapy with the FDA-approved nuclear export inhibitor Selinexor against metastatic melanoma

Advisor: Dr. Wenwen Fang

06/2022 – 06/2024

Evaluated the immunogenicity of fully purified circular RNAs in immune and non-immune cell models
Determined the endosomal and cytosolic sensors involved in foreign circular RNA recognition in innate immunity using CRISPR KO immune cell models
Developed a scalable and optimized circular RNA purification method that achieves complete separation from double-stranded species and linear RNA contaminants
Compared the functional half-life of synthetic circular RNAs to linear RNAs

Advisor: Dr. Karen Anderson

08/2019 – 06/2022

Produced HLA-I tetramers to characterize SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD8+ T cells in unexposed individuals
Expressed engineered SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell receptors on Jurkat T cells with the Sleeping Beauty transposon system to study cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and common cold coronaviruses
Identified conserved epitopes among coronaviruses that induce T cell activation as targets for vaccine design

Advisor: Dr. Patrick Pirrotte

05/2019–08/2019

Utilized mass spectrometry to characterize the nuclear proteomes in ovarian cancer cell models to analyze the transcription factor landscape driven by the atypical chromatin remodeling activity of residual SWI/SNF complex