Kaitlin Walsh / AP Images for HHMI

I am driven to improve the health and wellbeing of others, and my past and present research reflect this ambition. I studied the role that genetic background plays in the evolution of phenotypic antibiotic resistance, its genetic basis, and its associated fitness costs as a PhD student in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Lenski at Michigan State University. I am now expanding upon my earlier work as an HHMI Hanna H. Gray Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Jacob Scott’s lab at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. Here, I am addressing how other factors – including population size and mutation rate – interact with background, in both bacteria and cancer, to influence resistance evolvability. I am fascinated by the tension between repeatability and contingency in evolution and how these phenomena impact our ability to predict resistance outcomes. I am also immeasurably grateful that I can follow my curiosity for a living!

I am a disabled scientist. I was born with a rare neurological condition called Moebius syndrome that affects the muscles that control facial expressions and eye movement. I cannot smile, frown, close my eyes tightly, or move them side-to-side. I am also missing fingers on both hands and I do not have a right foot; to compensate I wear a prosthetic leg. My disabilities together affect my speech because I am missing part of my tongue, and I cannot move my mouth in a coordinated fashion. Although my disabilities have posed challenges, my identity as a disabled person has nevertheless enriched my academic life in many ways. Through my lived experiences I appreciate that, despite our differences, our curiosity about the natural world is what binds us together; that each of us has a unique story that should be respected and cherished; and that we all should have a voice within science. The way I honor these ideals is through giving my time to advocacy, mentorship, listening, and learning.

I am committed, as a postdoctoral researcher and future principal investigator, to creating and maintaining an environment in which all are welcome and respected – one that is inclusive of race, gender, faith, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomic status.