I was born in Chicago (go Bulls!) but grew up almost entirely in northern NJ, about 5 miles from Columbia.  I attended Wellesley College for my undergraduate studies, during which time I became interested in genetics and molecular/cellular biology.  After graduating from college, I worked as a research assistant in labs at Yale University and Eastern Virginia Medical School.

During my time at Yale, I studied the role of two novel genes in the development of the C. elegans germ line and also contributed to the C. elegans modENCODE project, a highly collaborative research consortium that aims to identify all sequence-based elements of the C. elegans genome.  At EVMS, I studied the role of two families of microRNAs in the development of C. elegans by creating double, triple, and quadruple mutants and investigated the functional redundancy of microRNAs within and across families.  I have been so incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to work in very supportive and collaborative research environments in the past, and I am very much looking forward to becoming a part of the Columbia University research community.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband, family, and friends.  I am an avid hot/Bikram yoga practitioner; come fall, if I'm not at Columbia or at home, I'm probably sweating it out in the hot room.  I also enjoy walking around the city, going to art museums, and sitting on a beach doing nothing.