My long-term goal is to build a foundation to function as an independent investigator. My long-term research interests involve the identification of biomarkers of drug efficacy in highly aggressive forms of cancer. My academic training and research experiences have provided me with background in many disciplines including, chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. As an undergraduate, I was able to conduct research with Dr. Mi Hee Lim working to develop small-molecule metal chelators that target Aβ plaques in Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Michigan. From this work I was second author on a publication characterizing metal chelators and their corresponding metal complexes. As a doctoral student with Dr. Jeff MacKeigan, my research focused on the elucidation of the role of PI3K-C2α in the autophagy pathway and the identification of small molecule inhibitors of the kinase domain. I identified PI3K-C2 α as a node that for the first time connects the endocytic and autophagy pathways, suggesting that PI3K-C2 α may be a critical component in the complex that directly incorporates endocytic membrane sources into the autophagy pathway and authored a first author publication. As a postdoctoral researcher, I expanded my skills in experimental therapeutics and drug testing. I authored a publication on molecular correlates of drug response in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) that built a platform for much of the work in this current proposal. As a research investigator I will build on the skills and experiences from my postdoctoral work as I transition to independent research on the research professor track. I have a strong foundation of data that I will build on, closely guided by an exceptional mentorship/collaborator team.

My long-term research interests involve the identification of biomarkers of drug efficacy in highly aggressive forms of cancer. Utilizing tumor characteristics, I hope to pair the right patients with the right drugs.