Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  University of California - Riverside

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am interested in spatial and temporal dynamics of chromosomes in plant nuclei and how that affects plant light signaling and photosynthesis. The interactions between chromosomes has been found in animals and we're just beginning to understand this is plants as well. Learning how plants are able to transition from growing in the dark to light conditions is an important and ubiquitous process for the survival for plants. The perception of light triggers the activation and inactivation of genes that are important for photosynthesis, looking at the chromosomal interactions adds another layer of regulation of these genes. Overall, I like to study how plants are able to perceive external environmental cues like light and temperature and how that affects their gene regulation. I work with a model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Hopefully my findings will be applicable to crop species as well because crops are important for food security and crop production in the face of climate change in the future.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  When and why did you decide to go into a science career?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

  I was always drawn to plants and animals since I was a child. I would go on nature walks with my parents and my favorite activity was visiting the tide pools in Half Moon Bay. I took this curiosity with me as I entered high school and my love of biology and science became more solidified when I took biology courses and especially AP Biology. I became a teacher aid my senior year and after taking mammalian physiology I thought that I wanted to become a doctor because doing dissections and experiments was so fun. Once I was in college at UC Berkeley, I started volunteering in a medical research lab over the summer and realized that it wasn't the field for me. I joined a plant innate immunity lab my junior year and eventually joined a biology field class where I did independent research in French Polynesia and it made me realize how much a enjoyed research. I realized rather than medicine, I kept gravitating toward research and I decided to go to graduate school for a PhD in plant biology a couple years after working as a research assistant at a plant biology based lab in Stanford.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is the coolest thing you have discovered or learned about plants?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

  One of the coolest things I've learned about plants is that they are able to anticipate where the sun rises due to their circadian rhythm. So the plants position themselves so that they can get the best angle for sunlight. Another cool thing I learned is that there is a very smelly flower called a "Corpse flower" from a plant called Amorphophallus titanium that blooms once every 10 years and it's rotten smell is used to attract pollinators like flies and beetles.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What lessons have you learned in your career about how science works?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

  Once lesson I've learned is to embrace the freedom and creativity you have as a scientist! This is one of the few jobs in life where you have freedom to investigate whatever topic interests you and that you can use your creativity to design experiments to answer any questions that you have. Being curious and staying informed is important. It is also important to believe in yourself and to be patient whether it comes to an experiment that doesn't seem to be working or your previously promising results are no longer true, you have to keep trying and move on and approach things in a sure and steady way. Often there aren't quick solutions or answers to science. Another lesson I've learned is that communication and teamwork is becoming more and more important in the field. Working with your lab mates, advisor, boss or students requires clear communication and appreciation of others around you. Everyone has experiences and perspectives that can be enlightening and helpful during your career and working together to solve problems. Also presenting your work at conferences and and to the public is important too because ultimately science produces knowledge that has the potential to greatly help and contribute to society. Finally, I've learned that science is really cool and I learn something new all the time! It's a rewarding journey that I have enjoyed so far in my career.

  
  
• Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

  2