I attended Michigan State University in large part because of the opportunity to do research starting as a freshman through the Professorial Assistantship program. I really enjoyed working in the lab, so I applied to Ph.D. programs and landed in the Molecular and Human Genetics program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. In grad school, I studied the processes that control stem cell self-renewal (making more stem cells to maintain a pool throughout life), and how these processes go awry in blood cancers. This was an exciting time as CRISPR was coming on to the scene as a new method for gene editing, so I started working with this technique. I then moved on to a postdoc position at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where I continued to use CRISPR and study leukemia.

During my time in Houston I volunteered for programs that introduced high school students to careers in science and medicine, and at the Health Museum in the DeBakey Cell Lab where I guided visitors through a variety of science experiments. It wasn’t until I was interviewing to be a Scientist-in-Residence in NYC that I realized I was more invested in making science accessible to non-scientists than I was in doing primary research myself.

When I came across the DNA Learning Center, I knew that this was a place where my firm belief that science is for everyone was shared. I found out that they wanted to develop a CRISPR course and would be hiring Educators and applied immediately! I’m excited to spend more of my time teaching and sharing science with students.

我之所以选择密歇根州立大学，很大程度上是因为我有机会通过教授助理项目从大一就开始做研究。我真的很喜欢在实验室工作，所以我申请了博士项目，并在休斯顿贝勒医学院的分子和人类遗传学项目落地。在研究生院，我研究了控制干细胞自我更新的过程（制造更多的干细胞以维持整个生命池），以及这些过程是如何在血癌中出错的。这是一个激动人心的时刻，因为CRISPR作为一种新的基因编辑方法出现了，所以我开始研究这项技术。然后，我在Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center担任博士后，继续使用CRISPR并研究白血病。

在休斯顿期间，我参加了一些志愿者项目，这些项目向高中生介绍了有关科学和医学方面职业的规划。我还在DeBakey细胞实验室的健康博物馆里指导参观者进行了各种科学实验。直到我面试成为一名驻纽约客座科学家时，我才意识到，比起我自己做的初级研究，我更愿意让非科学家也能接触到科学。

当我偶然看到DNA学习中心时，我知道这是一个分享我的坚定信念——科学是为每个人服务的地方。当我发现他们想开发一个CRISPR课程，并且会聘请教育工作者时，我立即递交了申请！我很高兴能把更多的时间用于教学和与学生分享科学。