I had a fantastic experience researching the structure and dynamics of a flu virus proton channel. This channel is a critical prophylactic target, but its structure and the mechanism of drug inhibition remain a topic of much debate.

As an undergraduate, I was exposed to high level biophysics research and encouraged to present my work to peers on campus, at a national conference, and in the form of a senior thesis. From my vantage point now as a researcher in a university setting, I realize that not all undergraduates have the opportunity to perform independent research with the careful mentorship we took for granted at Swarthmore.

Currently I am a Research Fellow in Harvard University's Molecular and Cellular Biology Department. I'm working in Dr. Vlad Denic's lab to biochemically characterize a novel pathway that targets and inserts tail-anchored proteins into the ER membrane.

This fall, 2010, I'll be starting as a PhD student at Rockefeller.