Questions I'm asking currently:
How do biophysical properties of cells encode information and influence cellular function?
I study how molecular diffusion, membrane tension, and intracellular crowding act as information carriers—using techniques that span single‑cell microscopy to brain‑wide imaging to identify the physical principles that underlie neuronal plasticity, adaptation, and disease progression.
I first emailed Dr. Kayla King in early 2023 and started working with her later that fall. The King Lab studies the evolution of host-pathogen interactions in different contexts, whether in the microbiome, differing host biodiversity, or different temperatures. I still remember that after my first meeting with her, she said at the end of it all, "we're going to turn you into an ecologist." Having only engaged in pure microbiology research, I was excited to venture into such novel topics.
After most strongly resonating with how warming affects infectious diseases, I conceived a project on how temperature affects bacterial cell physiology of experimentally evolved bacterial pathogens (genus: Leucobacter). I used preliminary data that showed certain populations of bacteria had increased virulence to pose the question of whether they were physically changing. Through time point/time lapse imaging, I was able to visualize the cells and analyze them using custom scripts and software on MATLAB to quantify the morphological features and single cell growth.
In parallel, to better understand the adaptation of microbes following experimental evolution, I always wondered how members of the evolved population would fare against their ancestors in a competitive fitness assay. Along with a PhD student in the lab, we conceived a project to introduce a genetic marker to distinguish the evolved and ancestral microbes. The hurdle was that our strain was gram-positive and undomesticated. I aimed to genetically engineer our strain, using a Cre recombinase system to express a fluorescent tag to visualize the pathogen's interactions with a host or evaluate adaptation through competition assays. The engineering method designed in this project allows for genes to be easily swapped in and out of the genome, making all future modifications of Leucobacter easier. The project did not go swimmingly to plan, and the system was not compatible; however, this experience opened my eyes to the field of engineering undomesticated bacteria to understand and control them.
In the spring of 2022, I took a class on bacterial pathogenesis that would lead me to a range of interests centered around microbes My interactions with the course instructor, a research associate at the Finlay Lab, led to numerous engaging discussions. Motivated by these conversations, I asked if I could do research with him, and I soon began working in the lab.
One of the first projects I worked on was looking at the probiotic properties of E.coli Nissle, focusing on its Type Six Secretion System (T6SS). My supervisor and I targeted effector proteins of the T6SS into cells and assessed their toxic effects on different cellular compartments. Additionally, I took on more independence and investigated the influence of metabolic supplements on bacterial growth patterns and gene expression.
In this first research experience, I was exposed to bioinformatic tools and how powerful they were in characterizing different components (something I look to incorporate into future projects). It was also here that I got my first taste of exceptional mentorship and realized the importance of working with highly driven people.