Lansing, Michigan, United States
PhD Candidate in Plant Pathology at Michigan State University. My graduate project is focused on the etiology and management of diseases impacting root crops in the Great Lakes region. Root crops I have worked with include table beet, carrot, American ginseng, radish, and parsnip. I desire a career in plant disease diagnostics. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology, Summa Cum Laude, from Ferris State University. I have undertaken research positions at two institutions: Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (New Haven, CT) and the Shimadzu Core Laboratory at Ferris State University (Big Rapids, MI). Throughout these opportunities, I have gained skills in sample processing, good laboratory practice, PCR reagent preparation, DNA and RNA extraction/isolation and purification, reverse transcription- and traditional-PCR, qPCR, ddPCR, and ELISA. Projects have included detection and characterization of Grapevine leafroll-associated viruses (GLRaVs) in grapevines with Grapevine Leafroll Disease (GLD), detection and quantification of E. coli in lake water, microbial source tracking (MST) of lake water E. coli contamination sources, and detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in campus and city wastewater. I have also worked as a greenhouse assistant in the John and Rhea Smith Greenhouse at Ferris State University.