MD-PhD Student
University of Pennsylvania

What is your brief bio (past education, research positions, etc.)?
I completed my undergraduate education in biomedical engineering at NC State. (Go Pack!) Then, I moved to Philadelphia to pursue an MD-PhD at Penn. I recently completed my PhD and am now working on finishing medical school.

Who have been your mentors?
Dr. Jacque Cole was my undergraduate research mentor who gave me my start in science. She has continued to be an important part of my support system, and she sets an amazing example of dedication to her work and her trainees that I strive to live up to one day.
At Penn, my advisor, Lou Soslowsky, has been a steadfast mentor and advocate. I am also lucky to have veterinary surgeon-scientist, Susan Volk, tendon biology mogul, Nat Dyment, and surgeon-scientist, Andy Kuntz, as mentors. Having such a knowledgeable and caring group of mentors really helped me weather the storms of graduate school.

What are your specific research areas and expertise?
My PhD work focused on understanding the role of type III collagen in neonatal tendon development and mature tendon healing. Interestingly, we showed that type III collagen is important for physiologic tendon development but less important for mature tendon healing.

What are you currently working on?
Finishing Medical School!

What has been the biggest challenge for you in your research?
As a graduate student, deciding how to divide my time amongst all of the different aspects of the scientific process has been a huge challenge. There are so many things that I want to do everyday. Figuring out how to make time for reading papers, planning experiments, doing experiments, analyzing data, writing, and everything in between has been a challenging process but having the chance to do all of these different things is also what makes graduate school fun!

What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?
Finishing medical school!

What do you want to do next in your career?
In the immediate future, I am hoping to stay connected to the world of tendon basic science while training in clinical medicine. In the long term, I hope to meld these two worlds through my work as an orthopaedic surgeon-scientist.

What advice would you give young investigators in the field?
Science is a privilege! Doing any type of research is challenging in so many ways, but we are uniquely fortunate to stand at the forefront of the pursuit of new knowledge. When all else fails, gratitude can be a helpful tool.
Also, find people who you enjoy doing science with! If you have not found them yet, keep looking; they are out there! Research is hard but there is plenty of room for fun along the way. Enjoying the journey is so important.

When you’re not in the lab, what do you like to do for fun?
I have been involved in the gymnastics community for most of my life, so I love to do and watch gymnastics! I recently started judging gymnastics competitions which is a really fun outlet for my scientifically-acquired neuroticism. I also love watching reality TV and am trying to work my way through all of the Real Housewives franchises.

What resources would you like to see available from the ORS Tendon Section?
The Tendon Section is such a great community! It would be nice for us to figure out more ways for trainees to connect with each other in between conferences.

How can we follow you?
Bluesky