**Ph.D. Candidate, Microbiology ⋅ James Leif Smith Laboratory** **Texas A&M University ⋅ Department of Biology** *[email protected] ⋅ [[Publications]] ⋅ [Google scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=4uxl-_EAAAAJ) ⋅ [[Calendar]]* --- I am a Ph.D. candidate and teaching assistant at Texas A&M University developing antimicrobial compounds and a genetically engineered anti-caries prophylactic probiotic. I have strong interests in the development and commercialization of antimicrobial compounds, genetic engineering in prokaryotes, business management and development, and mentorship. ## Professional & Academic Journey ### Undergraduate studies I started my bachelor's degree in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University in 2017, studying molecular and cell biology. In my second semester at the university I joined Dr. Alan Pepper's lab based on my then-interest in genetic engineering in plants. I studied under Dr. Pepper through the end of 2018, then changed direction to increase my involvement in microbiological research with Dr. James L. Smith at a position I had taken at his off-campus biotechnology startup company, Sano Chemicals. I completed my degree in December, 2020. ### Research at Sano Chemicals Starting the summer of 2018 I took a position as a laboratory technician at Sano Chemicals, a biotechnology startup company manufacturing and developing the antifungal compound occidiofungin. Initially in this role I cultivated *Burkholderia contaminans* MS14, the producer of this compound, and extracted and purified occidiofungin from those cultures. As we developed and hired additional technicians I took on additional responsibilities drafting standard operating procedures and batch production records for these processes, which later evolved into a major role in drafting documentation for our first investigational new drug application and a management position as director of operations. In this role I interviewed incoming job applicants, continued editing and preparing formal documentation, and led several research and development efforts aimed and increasing the scale of our manufacturing and reducing variability in composition of our product. Recognizing that I was only able to serve in this position thanks to the small size of our company, I applied to graduate school at Texas A&M to secure the appropriate training and credentials to make that and similar avenues viable career options in the long term. While I transitioned to a part-time role as an operations specialist to make myself available to Sano to ease the transition, I have largely not maintained an active role in the company since late 2021 outside of occasional collaborative research efforts between Dr. Smith's university lab and Sano. ### Ph.D. I was admitted to Texas A&M as a microbiology Ph.D. student starting in fall, 2021 and rotated with Dr. Richard Gomer, Dr. Heath Blackmon, and Dr. Smith. I elected to join Dr. Smith's laboratory at the end of 2021 and began two distinct projects, one investigating the origins of occidiofungin structure variability and the other aiming to alter the acidogenic properties of the dental pathogen *Streptococcus mutans.*