ESP Biography

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I grew up in inner city LA and was the first in my family to attend college. I stayed close to home and went to the California Institute of Technology for my undergrad where I experienced early on a career changing event. I always knew I wanted to do scientific research, but I never thought it would be in microbiology (the study of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses). In fact, up until college my plans were to study astrophysics and eventually work for NASA. However, in my sophomore year I watched a talk by a Caltech microbiologist and became fascinated with bacteria. Like most people, I had always thought of bacteria as germs that made people sick, but what I realized from the talk was that microbes exist everywhere and most of them are not harmful. In fact, all of us have carried trillions of microbes in our bodies since birth! My goal as a graduate student is to better understand the relationship between microbes and humans. And along the way I wish to educate the younger generation of future scientists of these amazing microorganisms and their great impact on our lives.

Past Classes