I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and attained a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a secondary major in Theology/Ethics from Baylor University. While at Baylor, I was a member of the track and cross-country team and participated in various research projects, such as modeling forest fires and working in an arthropod neuroethology lab, where I performed toxicity assays on Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. 
My time researching medically important mosquitoes as an undergraduate, in combination with classes such as Medical and Veterinary Entomology, have led me to the University of Arizona Department of Entomology and the Riehle Lab in pursuit of my Ph.D.
My work in the Riehle lab focuses on the prominent malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi. Anopheles stephensi poses a significant risk of malaria transmission through its association as an urban vector and invasive species to Africa. My major research project aims to manipulate the Coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis within the mosquito host, in order to starve Plasmodium of a critical resource. While humans, mosquitoes, and Plasmodium depend on pantothenate, or vitamin B5, for CoA synthesis, Plasmodium must attain this resource from its mosquito or human host. Through the use of transgenic A. stephensi with upregulate pantothenate kinase, our research hopes to eliminate available pantothenate within the mosquito, therefor reducing Plasmodium survival within its arthropod host and having important implications in disease transmission.