research
Two bacteria, one airway
I study Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, two bacteria that co-infect the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, and how P. aeruginosa adapts to S. aureus over the course of an infection. I run experiments at the bench, then use phylogenetics and sequence data to see what’s happening at the genetic level.
A few of the threads I’m pulling on right now:
- Microevolution: the small genetic changes these bacteria pick up over short timescales.
- Competition and coexistence: what decides whether one of them pushes the other out or they both stick around.
- Bench to genome: connecting what I see in experiments to the signals left behind in sequence data.
My advisor is Tim Read, whose lab studies bacterial genomics and builds computational tools (like the Bactopia pipeline) to understand how pathogens evolve and spread.
see my publications →organizing
Who gets to do science, and under what conditions
I helped lead the DeFlock Emory Coalition, a cross-campus effort to remove Flock Safety’s automated license-plate readers from our campus. We collected over 1,000 petition signatures, built relationships with AAUP and student groups, and produced teach-in, op-ed, and outreach materials that made the stakes legible to our community.
I’m the elected VP of Communications for EmoryUnite!, an elected representative on the HHMI Gilliam Advisory Council, and an appointed graduate representative to Emory’s University Senate.
see all organizing →this site
A bulletin board, not a brochure
I keep this site as a place to think out loud. Some of it is the science and bioinformatics I’m working through. Some of it is organizing, and what I’m learning about power and people. Some of it is stories and resources worth passing on. It’s all one project.
I don’t want to do science from inside the ivory tower, sealed off from my community and everything happening in the world. Instead of running away from that discomfort, I think we should run toward it. That’s how things actually change.