What I do
Broadly, I use mathematical tools to answer questions related to infectious diseases. I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago with Dr. Sarah Cobey studying the adaptive immune system and its effect on infectious disease transmission and evolution. I completed my PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in the Center for Computational Biology, where I worked with Dr. Mike Boots and Dr. Joe Lewnard. Before Berkeley, I graduated from the University of Chicago with a BS in Computational and Applied Mathematics. During that period I had the opportunity to work under Dr. Cobey modeling B Cell selection.
Why I do it
I started my journey to the intersection of mathematics and biology as a undergraduate who knew nothing except that I liked math. I was fortunate to have a series of mentors and advisors who showed me that biology actually moved in concert with mathematical ideas. I was captivated with the idea of abstracting the dynamics of biology into a mathematical framework.
Infectious disease dynamics interested me particularly as an area where there was a long tradition of using mathematics to understand biological processes. I also liked that it was “biology you can see” (after having taking fundamentals of molecular biology I knew my interests lied elsewhere), in the sense that these processes happen on the scale of populations (I have since become fascinated with within host processes as well but I had to start somewhere). The covid-19 pandemic has since even further galvanized my interest in and recognition of the need for science that can unite the quantitative and biological understandings of the world.
What I like
I love my research and the opportunity to learn new things every day. Check out the research page if you want to hear more about it.
I love games of all kinds and have been an avid fan of board, card, video, and sports games all my life. I have played Magic: The Gathering since elementary school, revealing that I am a nerd in my professional and personal life. I root full heartedly for Detroit sports teams, the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons. I also watch too much college football for one person, splitting my allegiance between the Universities of Michigan and California.
I also love to run (follow me on Strava!), socialize with friends and family, and generally balance my academic pursuits with my personal ones. I have found this balance to require active input, but also to be extremely beneficial to the success of both pursuits.
In addition to my hobbies and interests, I love when academia is an arena of ideas from researchers of all backgrounds. However, I acknowledge this is not always the case; and am committed to amplifying the voices of underrepresented scientists such as women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ scholars to make academic spaces as inclusive as possible. I am also committed to using my own voice to speak out against discrimination wherever it is found. My academic and life’s journeys have been fortified by my friends and colleagues from all backgrounds, and my wish is for everyone to be able to find the same family in science that I have.
TL:DR
Cool guy loves math, infectious disease biology, and games. Despises discrimination. Check out my CV for more info.