Biography

I first developed a passion for the study of human origins and genetics in high school in Westchester County, NY. I received a BA in Evolutionary Biology of the Human Species at Columbia University and at Cambridge will be pursuing an MPhil working in Dr. Toomas Kivisild’s laboratory. For my MPhil project, I will be using bioinformatics to search identify gene variants that may have entered the human population from interbreeding with archaic hominin species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. Specifically, I am looking for such variants that may have conferred adaptive advantages in particular environments and were thus selected for in some populations. In addition to my passion for this research, I have also always advocated for social and political engagement and hope to continue do so at Cambridge and in the future.