Duplicate Me

Keywords: antibody engineering, vaccine design, chemical biology

I am currently working with Dr. Ana Ferreira Ramos on engineering antigen-based alphavirus nanoparticle vaccines. This project will involve recombinant protein expression, bioassay development, and many more techniques I will soon learn. Mosquito-borne alphaviruses like Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) pose a mounting risk to developing nations, especially with increasing urbanization and the effects of climate change. In addition to this project, my responsibilities as a technician range from cell culture to inventory management and beyond.

At Tufts, I worked in the Dr. Joshua Kritzer lab on projects related to the chemical biology investigation of autophagy inhibitors with applications in cancers, such as ovarian cancer. I worked with Dr. Alexandria Leveille on developing a structure-activity relationship (SAR) study on small molecules targeting autophagy-related proteins LC3B and GABARAP, as well as an independent project developing a peptide-based SAR targeting the same proteins.

In the future, I look forward to developing my skills at the Lai lab, both as a technician and a researcher, and use that knowledge to apply to graduate school programs in either Biochemistry or Chemical Biology. Outside the lab, you can find me playing my keyboard/guitar, marathon training (hopefully NYC 2027!), hiking, and exploring the city.