I grew up in a small midwest town, served in the U.S. Air Force for 6.5 years, and then entered academia as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois. It was there that I was introduced to scientific research under the mentorship of Dr. Bill Brieher and Dr. Vivian Tang where I used biochemical approaches to study actin dynamics and protein binding affinities. After graduation, I joined the lab of Dr. Jeff Gross at the University of Texas at Austin where I studied the role of DNA methylation in retinal stem cell maintenance. It was during this work that I happened upon the intricacies of transposon biology and became fascinated by their complexity. Upon completion of my doctorate, I transposed to the Feschotte lab at Cornell where my research now focuses on the intersection of transposons during tissue regeneration using the zebrafish as a model. I identify as a neurodiverse, veteran scientist, and in my spare time, I enjoy practicing kungfu, learning new things, and playing video games.