My work history has spanned diverse landscapes—from scientific diving and marine conservation in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to conducting detailed bench work and behavioral assays in the neuroscience field. With over 5 years of experience in ecotourism and SCUBA instruction, alongside local-scale coral and shark conservation efforts, I have continued to foster a deep respect of and scientific curiosity for the sea. These interests, coupled with rigorous data acquisition and analytic techniques learned through neuroscience research have fostered an academic transition into spatial-temporal climate-driven data.

Masters Research

Microplastic pollution is a ubiquitous environmental issue, with detrimental impacts spanning ecosystems and socioeconomic domains. While the effects of climate on microplastic degradation, proliferation, and distribution have been a topic of research in the last two decades, there exists a knowledge gap on the effects of extreme weather events on the redistribution of microplastics accumulated in coastal environments. This research aims to investigate whether predictive patterns of redistribution can be detected and what, if any, storm parameters drive these redistributions. Additionally, we aim to study secondary impacts of microplastic redistribution on coastal habitats.

Selected Publications

VTA dopamine neurons are hyperexcitable in 3xTg-AD mice due to casein kinase 2-dependent SK channel dysfunction. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53891-1

Aged mice exhibit faster acquisition of intravenous opioid self-administration with variable effects on intake. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2025.110464.

Parallel gene expression changes in ventral midbrain dopamine and GABA neurons during normal aging. (in review). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.28.640868