Interests
Since I was a child, I have always held a deep passion for learning and building. Be it in the humanities, sciences or social sciences, all of my professional & personal experiences have emphasized the need for an interdisciplinary approach, one that properly recognizes the skills & limitations of each field, in order to even begin to understand this beautifully chaotic universe we find ourselves in. By opening myself to the possibilities present in each field & subfield, I have gained substantial experience in computational immunology, phage display, antibody/protein engineering, biochemistry, protein characterization & structural modeling, flow cytometry, NGS sequencing, and ML/LLM model optimization and output analysis. This has led me to becoming a biotechnology researcher working at the intersection of experimental and computational biology, a path that allows me to thrive in a variety of both wet-lab/experimental and dry-lab/data analysis domains.
But no matter how deep I get into the STEM fields, I am never too far from the essential skills my education in the humanities has given me. Whether it be applying the critical thinking and research skills from my honors history thesis, formulating arguments about bioethical concerns, or using the creativity and empathy fostered through archaeological fieldwork, these humanities-trained skills have proven the most universally transferable. Navigating unfamiliar environments and collaborating across cultural boundaries taught me a flexibility that now serves me in any setting, whether working in an international lab or pursuing an interdisciplinary masters in biotechnology.
It is because of this unique academic and professional journey that I believe science benefits from diverse perspectives, and why I enjoy working with teams that bring together different expertise and ways of thinking. I am always eager to learn new methods, take on challenging problems, and contribute to research that has a meaningful impact. Whether I am at the bench, analyzing data, or collaborating with colleagues across disciplines, I am committed to thoughtful, rigorous, and collaborative science.
Outside of science, my life is a mix of creativity, movement, and exploration. A near-native Californian, I picked up surfing and skateboarding early on, while my childhood in the French Alps fostered a love of snowboarding as well as the more adventurous summer sports available deep in the mountains, like spelunking, canyoneering, rock climbing, hiking, and camping.
A child of two nations, I have always been drawn to travel and the sense of discovery that comes with exploring new places. Whether hiking and backpacking through the Pacific Northwest, off-roading across the Australian outback, excavating ancient temples in the Peruvian Andes, or simply hopping on a long-distance train to wander through a small city off the beaten path, I will always take the opportunity to explore somewhere new, no matter how near or far.
Film photography has become a natural companion to that wanderlust. The limited number of shots forces me to consider the composition of each one. Manually adjusting settings draws my attention to the lighting and details I might otherwise miss. There is patience required when you cannot see the results until you return, and grace in accepting that many will be duds. But ultimately, there is the satisfaction of capturing small moments of clarity from the inherent chaos of the world and holding the physical reminder of your memories long past the ones in your mind may start getting blurring.
When I’m closer to home and not waxing philosophical on the joys of analog photography, I stay grounded by working with my hands on an ever-growing list of DIY and arts & crafts projects, be it cooking, crocheting, pyrography, or anything else that sparks my creativity. Covid lockdowns and a gift of power tools pushed me to build a car camper conversion from scratch. It was equal parts frustrating and rewarding, taught me a lot about problem-solving with limited resources, and ultimately gave me the freedom to travel further while simultaneously staying closer to home.