About
I’m an engineer who loves tackling big problems at the intersection of microbiology, synthetic biology, and chemical engineering. My journey started with a B.S. in Applied Math at the University of Rochester, followed by a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Duke, and postdoc training at MIT. After launching my independent lab at Barnard and Columbia, I moved it to the University of Rochester, where I now hold joint appointments across multiple departments. My lab focuses on understanding and engineering microbial communities, with a core emphasis on antibiotic resistance and horizontal gene transfer (HGT), which is the process that lets bacteria share genes like trading cards. We’re developing cutting-edge tools to track, model, and control gene flow in complex microbial ecosystems, with big implications for medicine, sustainability, and biotechnology. Our work has been recognized with awards like the NIH R35, NSF CAREER, and Pew Biomedical Scholars.
Joined
February 2025
