Background
At age 12 I fell gravely ill and was life-flighted to a research hospital nearly 500 miles from home. Following this traumatic experience and a year of difficult recovery, I found myself enrolled in an NIH youth program to explore microbiology. There I met Dr. Jovanka Voyich who introduced me to medical research. What once terrified me now fascinated me. With her mentorship, I set my trajectory toward entering an M.D./Ph.D. program with a focus in antimicrobial resistance. I began advanced biology courses, started doing research projects, and volunteered in healthcare environments. My research projects included work on microbiomes at the NIH program, viral vector analysis at Carroll College, cell culture biology with Epstein Barr Virus in my first year at Colorado College, and my three-year undergraduate thesis on genome expression patterns in a model system for cancer research. Upon graduating from Colorado College with degrees in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Classics, I was awarded the US Fulbright Scholarship to study antimicrobial resistance at the Florey Institute in the UK. This MSc continues to direct me toward my M.D./Ph.D. studies as I continue to research, discover, and explore microbiology and its direct impact on the clinical environment. 
Research Project
Investigating Gentamicin Resistance and Alternative Modes of Action in Staphylococcus aureus is my MSc project investigating antimicrobial resistance in S. aureus with a particular focus on evolving resistance to gentamicin, and I am working in Dr. Simon Foster’s lab under the direct supervision of Dr. Viral Panchal and Dr. Mariana Tinajero-Trejo. Gentamicin resistance is largely acquired through genomic transfer in Gram-negative species, but we are researching evolved resistance through whole genome sequencing. We are also investigating a potentially undiscovered mode of action by this aminoglycoside in Gram-positive bacteria. Gentamicin stabilizes mismatched anticodons creating misreads and misfolded proteins damaging the membrane but kills significantly more rapidly than other protein synthesis inhibitors. I am utilizing SIM and Widefield microscopy to directly observe the phenotypic effects of gentamicin and other protein synthesis inhibiting antibiotics as well as combinations of these treatments. Finally, I am observing the efficiency of linezolid in synchronizing bacterial growth phase using microscopy and biochemistry techniques. Through this project I hope to advance my skills as a researcher and critical thinker in the laboratory as well as speak about the progress and relevance of my dissertation project with other research cohorts at the Florey Institute and internationally. |
The Team
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