Scientific Path

Research Journey

DFCI & Harvard Medical School

2023 — Present

As a Research Fellow in the lab of William G. Kaelin Jr., M.D., my research has focused on oncology, high-dimensional NGS data analysis, and in vivo genome engineering.

I helped engineer a novel CRISPR-based somatic gene editing platform using adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) to establish a high-fidelity mouse model of Vhl-deficient clear cell kidney cancer, enabling the study of tumor initiation and progression in an immune competent mouse. This work was published in PNAS (2024).

I helped uncover novel HIF-regulated endogenous retroviral elements (ERVs) in clear cell kidney cancer by integrating large-scale transcriptomic and epigenomic datasets, identifying functional signals in previously "dark" regions of the human genome. This work was published in Cell (2025).

During this time, I have also optimized and deployed reproducible NGS analysis pipelines to process multi-omics data (single and bulk RNA-seq, ATAC-seq) from cell lines, mouse models, and patients to identify novel therapeutic targets in kidney cancer.

Anne West Lab, Duke University

2020 — 2023

As a Ph.D. student in the Department of Neurobiology, I investigated the chromatin mechanisms of gene regulation in post-mitotic cells, specifically murine cerebellar granule neurons. These neurons exhibit a protracted period of post-mitotic maturation involving the temporal coordination of genes regulating migration, axon outgrowth, dendritogenesis, and synaptogenesis.

Among various approaches, I used ChIP-seq and CUT&RUN to characterize the epigenome of primary neurons with high throughput. This work was published in eLife (2023). I also generated and utilized lentiviral dCas9-fusion proteins to artificially alter chromatin at specific genomic loci.

Additionally, I performed Hi-C on accessible regulatory DNA (HiCAR) to investigate dynamics in chromatin architecture in this system.

Locasale Lab, Duke University

2018 — 2020

As a Ph.D. student in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, I worked towards understanding the interactions between cellular metabolism and chromatin regulation in the context of cell-fate specification.

Specifically, I investigated the role of methionine, an essential amino acid, on histone methylation and its subsequent role in gene regulation. To this end, I utilized a combination of approaches involving cell culture, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and LC-MS/MS based metabolomics.

I also briefly worked on a chemically-modified diet model using D. melanogaster to answer some of these questions.

Graduate School Rotations

2017 — 2018

Prior to joining my thesis lab, I completed rotations in two distinguished laboratories:

Sullenger Lab

Department of Surgery — Worked on RNA-aptamers as an anti-cancer therapeutic strategy in osteosarcomas.

Lefkowitz Lab

Department of Biochemistry — Explored molecular mechanisms in downstream signaling events induced by β2-adrenergic receptor agonists.