I completed my B.S. in Molecular and Biochemical Plant Biology from the University of Illinois Carbondale and joined the Pakrasi lab as a Ph.D. student in the Plant and Microbial Biology program at Wash U. My Ph.D. thesis project addresses high-light tolerance in the fast-growing cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973. I aim to identify new factors and mechanisms of high-light tolerance using a range of genetic and physiological techniques. My most recent focus has been to characterize a putative enzyme that exhibits a strong link to light-stress response, this work is supported by the Bayer Graduate Fellowship. Outside of the lab, my hobbies include walking my dog, boxing, hiking, and camping.