Biography

I began my undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University in Utah as a Conservation Biology major with the goal of intimately understanding the natural world and contributing to its protection in the face of rapid environmental change. As I delved into research topics such as plant community shifts with climate change, I learned how crucial computational tools and approaches are in addressing the complexity of global change, and as result, added a Bioinformatics major. At the same time, doing field work in the deserts and mountains of the American West reaffirmed to me the importance of close contact with the ecosystems we seek to understand in order to better protect and manage them. As a Plant Sciences PhD candidate at Cambridge, I plan to leverage both computer modeling and empirical field approaches to predicting the biogeography and resilience of alpine plants in the face of climate change. My research aims to inform both eco-evolutionary theory and conservation efforts for sensitive alpine systems. I care deeply about cultivating our human relationship with nature, making it one of my goals as a scientist and a citizen to help engage others in conservation through outreach and education. I am thrilled to join and learn from the vibrant, interdisciplinary Gates Cambridge community as we do our part to address complex global issues.

Previous Education

Brigham Young University Utah