I am a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research (CEVR) currently pursuing my PhD in Bacteriology in the Department of  Pathobiology and Veterinary Science  at the University of Connecticut.  I received my B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology and my M.S. in Pathobiology at UConn as well.

I am also a Teaching Assistant for Anatomy and Physiology of Domestic Animals , Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID),  Principles of Pathobiology, and have served as a lecturer for the graduate course Vaccines: Mechanisms of Immune Protection where I have lectured on Bacterial Strategies for Immune Evasion and DNA Virus Vaccines. I have also lectured about mobile genetic elements, antibiotic resistance, zoonotic diseases, etc., when TAing for EID.

Research Interests

My research interests lie in bacterial virulence factors, mechanisms of pathogenicity and host immune responses to infection. I have long been fascinated by the intricate mechanisms that bacterial pathogens have evolved and utilize to overcome sophisticated host immune responses.

I mainly study Mycoplasmas, which are atypical bacteria with minimal genomes that evolved through reductive evolution. Having lost many of the pathways required for the de novo biosynthesis of things such as a peptidoglycan cell wall, amino acids, and even nucleotides, many members of the Mycoplasma genus lead a fairly parasitic lifestyle, and are rarely found living outside of a host. As such, these fastidious bacteria have evolved closely with their host’s immune system, and are often aptly referred to as “stealth pathogens”. Due to this close association with the host, Mycoplasmas serve as the perfect model for the study of host-microbe interactions at the interface of virulence and symbiosis.

My first exposure to Mycoplasmas was as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Steven J. Geary’s laboratory, where I studied Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a significant respiratory pathogen of poultry. In 1994, M. gallisepticum emerged as the etiologic agent of conjunctivitis in house finches, and spread rapidly throughout the US population of house finches, causing major mortality and morbidity in these song birds. As a graduate student I became interested in the human respiratory pathogen, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and I am currently working on elucidating the mechanisms behind vaccine-induced disease exacerbation that has occurred with past experimental M. pneumoniae vaccine candidates. This research should hopefully pave the way toward the development of a successful and efficient vaccine against M. pneumoniae. Along side my thesis project, I am also working on the development of a sub-unit vaccine against M. gallisepticum.