BME PhD at Oregon Heath & Science University
Currently advancing my research as a biomedical engineering PhD student at OHSU, I work under the expert guidance of Dr. Andrew Adey and Dr. Gürkan Yardımcı. My core research centers on the development and interpretable analysis of high-throughput single-cell multi-omic coassays, specifically targeting the epigenetic nuances of cancer. Many cancers are driven not by mutations but by harmful changes in gene expression, which is controlled by chromatin architecture, chemical modifications, and protein interactions. A complex mix of diverse cancer and healthy cells form the tumor microenvironment, and epigenetic assays offers us a way to trace cancer back to its origins, predict its future, and treat it with precision.
From 2021-23, my M.S. thesis research in the Shea Lab focused on establishing AbC-SELEX, a novel hybrid approach to generating high-affinity structure-switching aptamers. I also developed maptamer.org, the largest online list of aptamer target ligands, using an innovative ChatGPT-based text extraction from scholarly abstracts. I was privileged to join Wayfinder Biosciences for a summer internship from May-September 2023, working on innovative RNA light-up aptamer-based biotechnology for molecular sensing and therapeutics.