About Me
Hey there! I’m an aspiring evolutionary biologist and botanist.
My mission is to study and protect our natural heritage in the field, lab, and command line. I want to push a frontier in our science by learning and applying modern genomic tools.
Right now, I’m a PhD student in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University, where I am under the mentorship of Deren Eaton. My work focuses on mating systems evolution in Amaranthus and I am particularly interested in the genomic mechanisms and ecological consequences of transitions to and from dioecy, as well the recent phylogeography of the threatened coastal plant species, seabeach amaranth or A. pumilus.
UPDATES:
2025.01.30: Updated this website for my class!
2023.04.21: Check out our genome announcement in PhytoFrontiers for Marasmius tenuissimus, an emerging fungal pathogen of cacao
2023.04.12: After receiving offers from 3 graduate schools, I’ve decided to attend Columbia University in the fall! Many thanks to all my friends and family, my recommenders, and the advisors that welcomed me to their labs for visits.
2020.04.04: I set up this website! Based on a Jekyll design by sproogen.
Experience
- Published a review on the budding tea industry in the United States
- Generated genomic resources for emerging pathogens of cacao that cause thread blight disease (Marasmius tenuissimus and Maramiellus scandens)
How are long-lived species going to survive the human induced rapid environmental changes induced by ecosystem modification and climate change?
- Currently exploring hybridization and adaptive introgression in 3 Southern California oak species
- Designed a common garden for 300 valley oak ( Quercus lobata ) seedlings for study of genetic variation across climatic gradients
- Investigated relationship between acorn size and germination in valley oak across 10 populations in California
Education
Columbia University
PhD (ongoing)
September 2023 - Present
In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen
I am currently a PhD student under the mentorship of Deren Eaton in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology (E3B). I am broadly interested in plant evolution, genomics, and conservation, and my work here has focused on mating systems evolution in Amaranthus.
University of California, Los Angeles
B.S Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution
September 2017 - June 2021
FIAT LUX | let there be light
Relevant coursework: • Computer Science I & II • Algorithms in Bioinformatics • Geographic Information Systems • Calculus of Several Variables • Linear Algebra and Applications • Differential Equations • Genetics • Population Genetics • Ecology and Behavior • Conservation Biology • Plant Ecology • Plant Diversity and Evolution • Plant Physiology