I am a physician-scientist in training who is pursuing a career in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Drawing on my training in bioinformatics, neuroscience, and medicine, I aim to build a career as a surgeon-scientist, pairing research with equitable patient care.
My work spans basic science and translational research, clinical service, medical education, and mentorship.
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
My path to medicine began with engineering. As a bioengineering student at UC San Diego, I worked on projects ranging from computational research in rare neurologic diseases to the development of a low-cost HIV viral load device for a clinic in Tijuana. I learned how to think about complex problems and, more importantly, how research can improve people’s lives.
During my M.D./Ph.D. training at the University of Toledo, I applied my background in biochemical laboratory techniques and bioinformatics to the study of neuropsychiatric illness. I examined how changes in metabolism and cellular signaling contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, major depression, and suicide, and used those findings to explore novel therapeutic targets. What kept me interested was not one method or disease, but the process of following a question wherever it led.
In medical school, I found that same intellectual range in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. My background in neuroscience gave me the foundation to understand how closely head and neck function is tied to the nervous system, while surgery offered a new way to solve problems and care for patients. Several years of service through humanitarian work and free clinics have also shaped the kind of physician I hope to become. I aim to continue building a career in which research informs clinical decisions, improves patients’ lives, and widens access to care.
I enjoy staying physically active through high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, and hiking. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where my love of the outdoors began. I enjoy traveling as a way to learn about other cultures and some of my favorite trips have been to Peru, France, and the Philippines. My husband and I have grown a short-term rental business around our shared love of travel.
WITH LINKS TO EACH MANUSCRIPT
A case I helped manage as a medical student. This child's presentation suggested a branchial cleft cyst but proved to be an occult esophageal foreign body. This case report highlights the importance of keeping foreign body ingestion on the differential for pediatric neck masses.
An open-source Bioconductor package that queries iLINCS signatures for candidate repurposable drugs. We are using this tool in multiple projects, including one that aims to identify sex-specific treatments in major depressive disorder.
This study applies machine learning to a high-throughput screen of over 1,300 compounds to find the chemical properties shared by those that inhibit ataxin-2, the protein that drives SCA2. We identify six compounds that warrant further investigation as therapeutic candidates.
A review of transcranial magnetic stimulation as a treatment for substance use disorders, where we compare stimulation protocols and clinical trial evidence. We propose that neuroimaging-guided targeting may reveal biomarkers that predict who responds well to treatment.
A global survey of clinicians, patients, and caregivers that identifies where tracheostomy care and training fall short, conducted with the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative. Across 170 respondents in 14 countries, the shortage of clinicians with tracheostomy expertise ranks as the most severe problem, ahead of inequitable access and affordability.
The first study to map the purinergic pathway across cortical layers of postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, comparing people with major depression who died by suicide to those who did not. P2Y receptor changes track with suicide rather than with depression itself, and most alterations are white matter- and female-specific.
Here we measure AKT isotype expression in enriched pyramidal neurons rather than bulk brain tissue. All three AKT transcripts are elevated in schizophrenia despite earlier reports of unchanged protein levels. The increases are largely found in females and are independent of prior antipsychotic use.
In this study, we compare metabolic pathway gene expression across schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression to that in models of ketosis. Glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and the electron transport chain are the most disrupted in all three illnesses and several genes move discordantly under ketogenic conditions. This suggests that ketone bodies may reverse some of these changes and partly explains their utility as a treatment option.
This study pairs measurements of WNT pathway transcripts in postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with in silico data across published datasets. The WNT pathway governs cell growth, brain development, and synaptic plasticity. Region-level expression is unchanged, but cell-level data shows alterations and antipsychotic-specific effects, suggesting WNT changes depend on cell type.
This study measures the adenosine receptors A1 and A2A, which regulate glutamate and dopamine signaling, in pyramidal neurons isolated from postmortem anterior cingulate cortex. A1 is elevated in female subjects with schizophrenia, and A2A increases with dementia severity in females and males.
The first study to measure protein kinase A (PKA) enzyme activity in the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia, testing whether earlier predictions of raised PKA hold functionally. We find no difference at the region level, suggesting that any changes in PKA activity may be specific to particular cell types.
A bioinformatics application built by our laboratory that allows researchers to query and cross-reference published brain omics datasets without writing code. It is the foundation for much of the in silico work done in the studies highlighted on this page.
For my doctoral work, I paired postmortem human brain tissue with bioinformatics to study purinergic signaling, kinase activity, and bioenergetic gene expression across schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and suicide. I examined ketogenic therapy as a way to correct these changes. I completed my Ph.D. and defended in three years.
I wrote this piece for The Toledo Blade to explain what ATP, the molecule that carries energy in every cell of the body, has to do with mental illness. It draws on my research into the pathophysiology of suicide and makes the case that these conditions are illnesses with a biological basis rather than failures of will or character.
I wrote this article for my company’s website on how telehealth reshaped patient care in the first months of COVID. It covers how practices chose a platform, how they held virtual visits to the same documentation standard as in-person care, and why patients rebooked cancelled appointments once they knew the option existed.
For residency correspondence, research collaborations, or speaking invitations.
