I graduated from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada in 2013 with a BA in Psychology and from the University of Edinburgh in 2015 with a MSc in Cognitive Neuropsychology. I later worked as an English teacher in South Korea and conducted research with young stroke survivors in Melbourne, Australia, where I made the decision to pursue physician-scientist training. After two subsequent years of pre-med and one year as a research assistant at Rutgers University in New Jersey, I joined OHSU’s MD-PhD program in 2021.

My research focus has evolved from human memory, to needs assessment and stroke service delivery, to spinal cord circuits of pain and touch. I now investigate the genetic and molecular modulators of alpha-synuclein’s pathological effects in the central nervous system in the Martin and Unni Labs. When I’m not doing science you can find me on a PNW mountain or at home making a meal for friends. 

Research interests: Neuroscience of brain injury, dementia, sleep (especially relationships with neuro disorders), glia and circuits in brain and spinal cord.

Clinical interests: Neurology, dermatology, and global health.