I am a junior at Boston College, majoring in Neuroscience and Philosophy on a pre-medical track. I am passionate about understanding the brain from cellular, molecular, and systems-level perspectives.

I am currently an undergraduate research assistant in the Smith Lab at Boston College, where we investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which environmental factors disrupt the development of social behavior. Specifically, our lab explores how environmental stressors, including combined diesel exhaust particles and maternal stress (DEP/MS), impair microglial gene expression and phagocytosis in a sex-specific manner, leading to disrupted synaptic pruning and altered neurodevelopmental trajectories in male offspring. Through this work, we aim to uncover how immune-neural signaling interfaces with environmental exposures to shape brain circuits underlying social behavior.

Previously, I conducted research in the Huttemann Lab at Wayne State University, where I explored mitochondrial supercomplex remodeling in prostate cancer cells. Focusing on a key acetylation site on cytochrome c (lysine 53), I examined how metabolic shifts toward glycolysis impact supercomplex formation and apoptosis evasion—hallmarks of cancer progression. Using blue native PAGE, in-gel activity assays, and immunoblotting, I demonstrated how metabolic context—not mutation alone—drives structural changes in the electron transport chain.

As an intern at the Loggia Lab, I am excited to contribute to research that leverages advanced neuroimaging modalities to better understand the brain mechanisms of chronic pain. I am particularly interested in identifying neuroimaging biomarkers of pain and examining the role of glial cells and neuroinflammation in pain-related brain alterations. I look forward to integrating my prior experience with molecular neuroscience and metabolism into this new chapter focused on human pain and clinical neuroimaging.