I am a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Michelle Ward’s laboratory in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. My current work is focused on understanding how the transcriptional landscape changes in cardiomyocytes after treatment with breast cancer drugs. I am interested in understanding how cis-regulatory elements contribute to transcriptional responses after treatment with anthracyclines, a class of chemotherapeutics which are known to cause cardiotoxicity. I enjoy working with my lab to dissect the global role of regulatory elements in response to stress or varied environmental conditions.
I completed my Ph.D. in Biochemistry under Dr. Yu Liu at the University of Houston. I studied how small non-coding RNA, called microRNA (miRNA) affected the transcription and timing of key heart development genes. More specifically, my work focused on CRISPR-mediated miRNA knockout effects on cardiac cellular development and cell fate choice.
I am a long-time resident of League City, and I enjoy spending time indoors reading and avoiding mosquitos. I have two nearly grown children, a husband, and three cats. Most people would be surprised to know that science is my second career. I was a music teacher that fell in love with biochemistry and genetics.