Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, United States
I received my undergraduate Honors degree in Genetics at the University of York (England, UK) and my Research Masters of Science training in Human Genetics at Edinburgh University (Scotland, UK). My doctoral thesis work in the laboratory of E. Elizabeth Patton, PhD (Edinburgh University Scotland, UK) focused on determining the impact of RASopathy (cardiofaciocutaneous and Costello syndromes) patient-derived germline mutations on early embryonic development, and neurodevelopmentally-regulated behavior of zebrafish. During that time, I developed a passion for the study of RASopathies and joined the laboratory of David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD at Washington University to use the Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition disorder as a framework to understand the intersection between normal brain development and tumor pathobiology. Initially as a postdoctoral fellow and later as junior faculty at Washington University, I have been interested in defining the genetic, molecular and cellular factors that underlie neuronal development and neuron-driven cancer pathogenesis, with a special focus on low-grade nervous system tumors (gliomas and neurofibromas). Over the past decade, I have employed NF1 patient-derived and engineered human induced pluripotent stem cells, organoids and derivative neuroglial lineages as a platform study the germline mutation-specific effects on tumorigenesis and their impact on tumor microenvironment, to generate the first humanized mouse models of low-grade glioma and neurofibroma, as well as to develop translational tools for the treatment of these nervous system tumors.
