What is your current research focus and why?

I’m trying to understand how proteins aggregate, or clump, together to form dense structures called amyloids, which are often linked to diseases. Figuring out how amyloid assembly starts is the first step toward stopping them.

Growing up, what career did you want to pursue?

Total cliché—but I wanted to be an astronaut. Exploring the unknown has always had a gravitational pull on me.

When and how did you become interested in a career in science?

I’ve always been fascinated by complex systems. My dad was an auto mechanic, and I loved seeing all the parts working in concert to create power. Great mentors in high school and college nudged that curiosity toward biology, where the “parts list” runs from organs all the way down to single molecules. I’ve been hooked ever since.

What made you decide to join the Halfmann Lab at the Stowers Institute?

While hunting for a postdoc, I sent out a hair-brained proposal on targeted protein degradation—a therapeutic strategy for destroying specific proteins contributing to disease. Randal Halfmann, Ph.D., replied with a kind, thoughtful email that spun my idea into something genuinely exciting and showed how it could fit into his work. That enthusiasm was contagious—so I joined the lab, and here we are!

What is your favorite non-research related memory at the Stowers Institute so far?

Lab adventures, hands down. WhirlyBall and hot pot in Chicago, laser tag and Royals games in KC—those trips turned colleagues into friends and memories into keepsakes.

What is your favorite thing to do in Kansas City?

Catching a game. Whether it’s the KC Current, Sporting KC, the Royals, or the Chiefs, this city lives and breathes sports—and I love being a part of it.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Honestly? No clue. I just know I want to be in a lab creating, pushing boundaries, and building something new.

What advice do you have for other people curious about a career in science?

Talk to people! Most of my best ideas—and opportunities—came from conversations with other scientists. Share data, workshop problems, collaborate. It’s the single most valuable habit I’ve cultivated.