PhD Candidate

After obtaining a B.S. in Biology from California State University, Bakersfield in 2021, I entered the Biomedical Sciences Ph.D program at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. I perform research in the Center for Cardiovascular Research in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Ohio State University College of Medicine. As a pre-doctoral student, I study the field of cellular and molecular physiology under Dr. Mingtao Zhao. Dr. Zhao is a leading expert in molecular cardiac biology and reprogramming of patient-derived somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and cardiac/endothelial lineages. Within Dr. Zhao’s laboratory, I have published two papers in the journal Stem Cell Research as a first-author and second-author on iPSC characterization. With my academic training and research experience in subjects such as biotechnology and molecular biology, I plan to build upon this research to pursue research in organoid development for modeling cardiac heart defects and cardiac development, with this research involving generation of cardiac cells through directed iPSC generation. I conduct cardiovascular research under Dr. Zhao on projects investigating the impact of hyperglycemic conditions on cardiac lineage determination and differentiation in 2D iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and 3D cardiac organoids. I am a first-generation American, and the first in my family to graduate from college, so I am excited to further my education and training in graduate school. After obtaining my doctoral degree, my career plan is to build upon my experience with organoid development research, ultimately becoming an independent biomedical investigator within an academic setting, collaborating with medical professionals, and studying therapy or cardiac diseases relating to improper development during embryonic stages.