Welcome! We are currently recruiting undergraduate and graduate student researchers to join our new lab at the University of Vermont! 

Please contact the PI with your cover letter and CV/Resume. 

Honors and Awards

Medical Research Foundation Early Clinical Investigator Award (2022) ($30,000 award)

Collins Medical Trust Award (2021) ($30,000 award)

CEDAR Pitch-Fest Winner (2020)

GAANN Functional Materials Fellowship (2014)

NSF GRFP Honorable mention (2012)

iGEM world championship Grand prize winner (2011)

AVS Northwest chapter poster competition, second place (2010)

MSE department award, U. Washington, (Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Fall 2010)

Dean's list, University of Washington (2009)

University Achievement Award, Washington State Univ (2008)

Kaiser Scholarship, Washington State Univ (2007).

Research Experience

CEDAR Center (Oregon Health and Science University) 2018-present

As an independent postdoctoral scholar, I lead multiple projects on commensal bacteria engineered as in-vivo bio-sensing probes and therapeutics in the lower respiratory tract. I initiated these projects myself and funded them through continuous internal grants, and two external awards. I am the sole corresponding author concerning this work. I have also developed photoactivatable antibodies for use in cancer immunotherapy and oral cancer sensing bacteria collected with a dielectrophoretic chip, both in collaboration with Prof. Stuart Ibsen and both leading to co-corresponding authorship of papers.

Andrew Goodwin Lab (CU Boulder) 2016-2018

As a postdoc, I engineered a small affinity agent (affibody) to photocrosslink to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). This allowed it to first diffuse throughout a tumor and then be retained there long term by triggering covalent binding with light. This novel approach was detailed in a high impact publication.

Jennifer Cha Lab (UC San Diego and CU Boulder) 2011-2016

During my doctoral studies, I used a combination of genetic engineering and bio-conjugation techniques to modify filamentous bacteriophage to act as in-vitro biosensors. This work led to three first author publications in peer reviewed journals, and was detailed in my dissertation titled: Engineering of Filamentous Bacteriophage for Protein Sensing.

Eric Klavins Lab (U. Washington) 2011

As part of the grand prize winning international genetically engineered machines team from University of Washington, I cloned magnetosome genes into E. Coli and created Gibson assembly compatible vectors.

Marco Rolandi Lab (U. Washington) 2010

During paid, full-time, undergraduate research, I designed and constructed (including machining new parts) a microcontact printing device for patterning semiconductor nanostructures, which used electric field deposition from liquid precursors.

Education