Brief Description of Research Interest :

Broadly, my research interest is therapeutic development. Upon entering graduate school, I was passionate about synthetic chemistry, particularly the development of small molecules with biological relevance. I chose a Chemical Biology lab for my graduate studies that applied synthetic chemistry to address problems in human health. My research included the design and synthesis of novel inhibitors targeting sulfotransferases – a class of disease-relevant metabolizing enzymes. I also delved into nucleic acid tool development, which led to contributions in establishing DNA aptamers as tools for covalent protein modification and perturbation. Once I received my PhD in Chemistry, I realized I wanted to continue with therapeutic development, but also wanted to gain a more well-rounded view of the translational process. I am currently a Postdoctoral Associate at Magee Women’s Research Institute, where my research focuses on ovarian cancer biology, more specifically, the role of aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes in chemoresistance.