Education
B.S. Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 2020
Ph.D. Student, Molecular Biosciences, Rutgers University
Research Interests
Protein design, protein structure, protein engineering, unnatural amino acids, computational biology.
Research Summary
Almost every activity in the human body is performed by a protein, including activities that may not be working properly and activities we can synthetically introduce. Because of the wide range of functions, proteins provide a massive toolbox that can be manipulated to serve a particular function via protein design. My research is centered around the necessary steps to create an enzyme with a photoactive unnatural amino acid; exposure to light can change their conformation, thus changing the structure and therefore function of the enzyme. This can provide an external source of spatiotemporal control over the enzyme’s activity. This additional control can offer advantages in cases such as enzyme therapy, where it might ensure that the enzyme is only active in the target location, reducing off-target effects. This work is composed of computationally generating designs using Rosetta, a biomolecular modeling suite, and later experimentally verifying the designs by creating the designed proteins in the lab.
Representative Graduate Courses Taken
Fundamentals of Molecular Biosciences
Experimental Methods in Molecular Biosciences
Ubiquitin Proteasome in Health and Disease
Ethical Scientific Conduct
Leadership & Outreach
Center for Diverse Leadership in Science Events Team, UCLA 2018-2020
Translation Quality Assurance Lead 2020-2021