I am completing a doctorate in Plant Biology at UC Davis in the laboratory of Venkatesan Sundaresan, where I have investigated how root microbiomes assemble from agricultural soils using synthetic bacterial communities. My research centers on the context-dependence of microbial lifestyle — how the same organism can promote growth, persist as a commensal, or cause disease depending on the biotic environment it inhabits — and what this means for the development and evaluation of biological inputs in agriculture.

Education

Doctorate of Philosophy

University of California, Davis

College of Biological Sciences

Department of Plant Biology

Advisor: Prof. Venkatesan Sundaresan

(defense June 2026)

Bachelors of Science

University of California, Los Angeles

College of Life Sciences

Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology

2017