About Me
I am originally from Wilson, New York, a small village about 30 miles north of the city of Buffalo on the south shore of Lake Ontario.
I received my B.S. in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University in 2014 and my M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Boston University in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
I am a bioinformatics scientist and computational researcher primarily interested in the multiscale interactions between the many biological, chemical, and mechanical actors in the tumor microenvironment, including tumor cells, immune cells, non-cancerous stromal cells and the extracellular matrix. None of these actors exist in a vacuum, and thus the interactions between these groups are an important determinant of gross tumor behavior. In particular, I study how the interplay between these actors affects tumor progression and patient treatment response, with a particular focus on tumor-immune interactions. To understand these interactions, I develop data-driven computational models and large-scale data analysis workflows, informed by laboratory analyses and cancer genomic and transcriptomic data, that allow the analysis of complex biological phenomena and furthermore, facilitate a deeper understanding of how these complex systems respond to various chemical and biological factors in the tumor microenvironment, including therapeutic interventions such as immunotherapeutic drugs. Through the careful interpretation and application of the results of these analyses, predictive models and biomarkers can be developed which facilitate a greater understanding of how tumors respond to microenvironmental changes, why some patients respond better to certain treatments than others, and how to best personalize treatment strategies to increase patient treatment response and promote long-term survival.
When I’m not doing science, I enjoy sailing, cycling, reading history books, and playing the saxophone.