People

I have been an Assistant Professor at Binghamton University since the Fall of 2018. I began my research career as an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Patrick Schlievert at the University of Minnesota studying toxin production in the Gram-positive pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Bacillus anthracis. I then joined the lab of Dr. Gary Dunny and began working on my PhD dissertation research studying conjugation and biofilm formation in the human pathogen Enterococcus faecalis. My postdoctoral studies took place at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the lab of Dr. Michael Federle. While there, I focused on quorum sensing in streptococci and the role of cell-cell signaling in colonization of the host. It was there that I began using animal models of bacterial colonization. Using a mouse model of vaginal colonization, I developed projects looking at the transcriptome of GAS and GBS during vaginal carriage using RNASeq. These projects developed into the work that is currently done in my lab.

When I’m not in the lab I enjoy playing with my cats, reading, and traveling nationally and internationally. I especially love spending time hiking and exploring upstate New York with my husband and two kids, Ramona and Edison.