Biography

The ability to determine the detailed structures of macromolecules has always amazed me. In 7th grade, I was invited to participate in Project CRYSTAL, a program that pairs middle school students with PhD candidates to solve a protein structure using X-ray crystallography. I fell in love with X-ray crystallography again as an undergraduate student at Boston University and decided to specialize in structure-based drug discovery to contribute to the advancement of medicine. Outside of the lab, I also enjoyed sharing my passion for science with my community in the Greater Boston area. My experiences tutoring math and science in jails and prisons brought me out of the academia bubble and forced me to confront the impact of my research on marginalized groups. In the United States, high drug prices often prevent people from receiving their prescribed medications. During my PhD in Biochemistry, I plan to use protein structures to design novel therapeutics that restore muscle mass in patients with muscle atrophy disorders. My ultimate goal is to start my own pharmaceutical company modeled after Distributed Bio, which was launched without venture capital and can thus set affordable drug prices while remaining profitable.

Previous Education

Boston University Biotechnology 2021