Hello world,
Who am I?
I’m a scientist, artist, and activist passionate about centering environmental and social justice in bioengineering.
Trained as an ecologist and molecular biologist, I study the cultural and environmental implications of biotechnology.
Together, let’s reimagine biology as cultural, creativity, and liberatory.
Currently, I am a National Science Foundation (NSF) Postdoctoral Fellow in Biology at Stanford University working with Dr. Kabir Peay. I am also a professional artist, community biodesign educator, and community organizer.
Formerly, I was a Biosecurity and Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, a graduate research fellow with the Stanford Center for Computational, Evolutionary, and Human Genomics (CEHG) (2023), National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow (2021), and Stanford McCoy Center for Ethics Graduate Fellow (2020). I have also have led several organizations, including a teen biodesign camp BioJam CoLABS, the Stanford Science Policy Group, Science Teaching through Art, and was a graduate student chair of the American Society of Naturalists.
My work spans biological research, policy research, art, and activism. Read on!
Education
2023-present - Biosecurity and Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University
Advisor: Dr. Drew Endy, Department of Bioengineering, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC)
2017-2023 - Ph.D. Stanford University, Biology (Ecology & Evolution)
Advisor: Dr. Tadashi Fukami, Department of Biology
2016-2017 - M.Sc. University of Michigan, Molecular Cellular, & Developmental Biology
Advisor: Dr. David Sherman, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
2013-2016 - B.Sc. University of Michigan, Biology
Advisor: Dr. Mark Hunter, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Biological
Research
My research focuses on the ecological and evolutionary implications of bioengineered organisms. As a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Biology at Stanford University, I use community engaged research to study the agroecological implications of bioengineered microbes on California ecosystems.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4611-0021
Art & Design
I reimagine biology through art. From reframing bioengineering through the lens of Mexican agricultural practices with migrant youth using art, to sharing the plant stories of my grandparents on the shores of Lake Michigan with ecology researchers, I use art to push what we imagine bioengineering to be.
I am a professional scientific illustrator, graphic designer, biomaterials artist, and am well known on Twitter for my “live-sketches” of scientific conference talks.
Dyed kombucha SCOBY grown in petri dishes.
Cyanotype tapestry with bird feathers, exhibited as part of a 2023 artist residency with Michigan State University.
Policy
What should the next 100 years of American biotechnology innovation look like? As a Biosecurity and Innovation Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), I am leading a policy research programme envisioning how to create an American bioeconomy by the people, for the people. Through interdisciplinary collaborations with policy experts, biologists, community activists, and youth, I am developing a roadmap to advance diversity, equity, and justice in the American bioeconomy.
I was a 2021 Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).