I'm a plant systematist and evolutionary biologist. I grew up in Juneau, a small town in Wisconsin. While I lived there, I became fascinated by the natural world through gardening, hiking, and foraging with my dad. Those experiences piqued my interest in plants as subjects of study from early on. In college, I studied biology because I thought I could use the degree to become a physician, maybe. I didn't really know people could have careers in science other than becoming a doctor or a teacher. During my undergraduate coursework I was surprised and excited by the required botany course. All that information about plant morphology and diversity helped me to decide to pursue a career in botany in some form.

 

After college, I had a job for a few years before I had the inclination to move ahead with my education. I moved to Oklahoma with the intention to get a masters degree. Somehow, I've turned my ideas for a masters degree into a PhD and am now graduating this summer. Earning a PhD at OSU has been one of the most amazing experiences and has enriched my life as a student, a researcher/educator, and as a human in innumerable ways.

 

I'm excited to have moved on to a postdoctoral research position in the lab of Dr. Chris Martine at Bucknell University as the David Burpee postdoctoral fellow. I work with an amazing group of student researchers on a variety of projects including systematic and evolutionary study of Australian Solanum.