Research

My research interests consist of developing and applying novel comparative population genomic methods. I am currently a postdoc in Adam C. Siepel's lab, where I am working on a project that involves building a likelihood model to detect the selective dynamics underlying a complex polygenic trait by using GWAS summary statistics.

In my former postdoc with Andrew D. Kern, I developed a machine learning approach that deployed deep convolutional neural networks for detecting selective sweeps, notably partial/incomplete hard and soft sweeps. This method was applied to whole-genome data for eight Anopheles mosquito populations to infer genomic responses to insecticide use, which will be used to inform malaria management.

For my PhD , which I finished under the supervision of Michael J. Hickerson, I primarily developed hierarchical co-demographic modeling approaches given genomic-scale data across multiple independent taxa. In addition, I investigated the effect of purifying selection on transposable elements, and in turn genomic architecture, in model vertebrate organisms within a comparative demographic framework.

Prior to my PhD education, I was a New York City Teaching Fellow, where I earned my Masters of Science for Teachers degree under the supervision of James F. Kilbane and worked as a secondary school teacher in NYC public middle schools and high schools. During this time, I taught biology, general science, mathematics, special education, and English for English Language Learners.