About me
Born in Colorado, raised in Virginia, I am a biology nerd with a passion for creativity and design. With over seven years of research experience and a lifelong hobby of art, I have found a home in UX design.
My research background
Undergraduate
I spent the bulk of my undergrad studying the bacteria that cause whooping cough in Turkeys (not exactly the same, but close enough). These bacteria are somewhat neglected in the research field, which gave me freedom to explore a wide variety of topics and approach problems in novel ways.
Post-Bacc
In 2020, I joined a research lab at the FDA studying whooping cough. There, I have helped develop new methods for studying host immune responses to infection.
My art and design background
2008 – ish
UX designer at 11 years old?
When I was a kid, I fell in love with art and graphic design. When my dad installed photoshop on our family computer, I spent countless hours experimenting and learning. I insisted on making every birthday card and party invitation. I made random collages and designs inspired by my favorite books and movies.
Eventually, I discovered “Guilds” on Neopets, which are basically “clubs” with their web pages. When I was bored, I would post on the “Guild Forum”, offering my services to create layouts for peoples’ guild homepages. As dorky as it might have been, I had a lot of fun designing these layouts.
(It's ok to laugh!)
2016
Photography
On a family road trip from Washington state to Virginia, I absolutely fell in love with photography. I bought my very first camera (Sony a600) soon after.
I still take lots of pictures!
2018
Study abroad in art and design (Amsterdam, NL)
In the summer after my junior year of college, I went on a study abroad to Amsterdam for a course called Dutch Culture and Design. This trip re-sparked my love of art and design. We had two main projects due at the end of the three weeks: an art project and a graphic design project.
I came into the class as a biology major who felt rusty in my artistic skills, but my projects were a surprising hit. It meant the world to me when my professor commended me, saying, “You’ve got a great backup career option!” He even hung up one of my art projects in his house.
2018 – 2022
Illustrator
In 2018, Dr. Goehler began writing a textbook about the brain, gut health, and nutrition.
To help explain the biological mechanisms she writes about, she hired me to create figures and some “cute” cartoons. These needed to be easily understood by medical professionals and laypeople alike, so I worked closely with her to ensure the illustrations were accurate and understandable. In 2020, Dr. Goehler asked me to design a cover for the very same book.
“Food for Thought: Changing How We Feel By Changing How We Eat” was published on November 22, 2022. The book is available on Amazon here.
