Biodesign Directory Profile

Bio

I am currently working with Drs. Mor and Matoba on a project focusing on the production of an edible subunit mucosal vaccine in HIV.   The majority of the forty million people infected with HIV reside in developing regions of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease continues to spread.  Most of the new infections of HIV in these regions occur mucosally, and there is a great need for a cheap, effective vaccine against the disease in this part of the world.  Our project hopes to accomplish this.  I am currently working with two HIV genes, Gag and D-Env, which are both responsible for the structure and function of the virus and also form virus-like proteins .  The goal of the project is to create chimeric D-Env/Gag VLPs of subtype C R5 HIV-1 isolate to be stably expressed in whole edible plants.  

I am from Salem, Indiana where I graduated from Eastern High School where I first became interested in science research.  During my high school career I won many science fair events culminating in becoming a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search and participating in a research internship at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.  I then went on to Purdue University where I graduated with a degree in Plant Biology in May 2005.  While at Purdue I conducted four years of research in gibberellic acid synthesis, cell wall biosynthesis, and participated in a research internship at the University College, Dublin.  While at Purdue, I became interested in plant-based vaccines and decided to pursue my PhD at Arizona State.  When I am not in the lab, I can usually be found out on the water.  I was a varsity rower at Purdue University, earning multiple gold medals at various championships throughout my career.  My passion for rowing inspired me to pursue a dream of rowing across the Atlantic Ocean.  In November 2005, I, along with my rowing teammate Emily Kohl, attempted to row 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua in a 24' long ocean rowing boat as a part of the Woodvale Events Atlantic Rowing Race.  Although we capsized after 46 days and were rescued after 16 hours clinging to the upturned hull, we are planning to race again and finish what we started.  In addition to rowing oceans, I am also coaching the novice women's rowing team at ASU.