Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Biology
University of California, Davis · Expected December 2026
Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology
Research Interest: The role of introns in chromatin biology
Major Professor: Dr. J. Grey Monroe
Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology, Honors
University of California, Davis · June 2019
Minor in Computational Biology
Honors Thesis: Understanding what kind of sequences can support transcription initiation in response to stimulatory introns
Publications
Celebrating modern plant diversity cataloging
Plant Sciences BulletinSpatiotemporal regulation of JAZ4 expression and splicing contribute to ethylene- and auxin-mediated responses in Arabidopsis roots
Plant Journal DOITeaching
- Guest Lecture — “The Role of Introns in Plant Chromatin”, Fall 2025, UC Davis Plant Genetics
- Guest Lecture — “Becoming a Latina Scientist”, Winter 2025, Becoming a Latino Scientist Seminar at UC Davis
- Teaching Assistant — Plant Genetics, Fall 2022 & Fall 2023, UC Davis
- Guest Lecture — “Is the Central Dogma Actually a Dogma?”, Summer 2021, American Chemical Society
- Learning Assistant — Biodiversity and the Tree of Life, Winter 2017, UC Davis
Honors & Awards
Root & Shoot Travel Award
American Society for Plant Biologists, Plant Biology Conference, 2026
Graduate Student Oral Presentation Award
National Diversity in STEM Conference, 2025
Chapter Officer Leadership Retreat Participant Travel Award
SACNAS, National Diversity in STEM Conference, 2025
International Student Workshop
UC Davis – IGDB – NAIST, September 2025
CBS DEIJ Initiative Grant ($500)
Graduate Student and Postdoctoral SACNAS Chapter High School Outreach Committee, March 2025
2nd Place STEM-Talk
Annual Biotechnology Training Retreat at UC Davis, March 2025
Chapter Officer Leadership Retreat Participant Travel Award
SACNAS, National Diversity in STEM Conference, 2024
Corteva Student Showcase Travel Award
American Society for Plant Biologists, Plant Biology Conference, 2024
Summer Graduate Student Research Award ($15,270)
Engineering, Computer Sciences and Disciplines with Engineering-related Applications and Methods, 2023
Travel Scholarship Award
SACNAS, National Diversity in STEM Conference, 2023
Recognition Travel Award
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, ASPB 2023 Conference
General Member Award for Outstanding High School Outreach
Grad and Postdoc SACNAS Chapter at UC Davis, 2022–2023
Ford Foundation Fellowship, Honorable Mention
National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, 2023
Jastro-Shields Research Award ($3,000)
2022
Department of Plant Sciences Graduate Student Research Award ($80,000)
2022–2026
UC Davis Dean's Distinguished Graduate Fellowship ($27,000)
2021–2022
Department of Plant Sciences Citation Award
2019
California Crop Improvement Association (CCIA) Scholarship
2018
Knowles Agronomy Scholarship
2018
Academic Excellence Award
Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success, 2018
William and Charlotte Lider Scholarship
2016
Presentations
"The Role of Introns in Plant Chromatin"
National Diversity in STEM · Columbus, Ohio · October 2025
"The Role of Introns in Plant Chromatin"
International Student Workshop, Nara, Japan · September 2025
"How to make a personal website using GitHub"
Graduate Student and Postdoctoral SACNAS Chapter, UC Davis · May 2025
"Exploring the impact of intron architecture on chromatin features in plants"
Bay Area Plant Hub Symposium · April 2025
"Exploring the impact of intron architecture on chromatin features in plants"
Plant Sciences Symposium, UC Davis · April 2025
"The Role of Introns in Plant Chromatin"
Annual Biotechnology Training Retreat, UC Davis · March 2025
"Exploring the impact of intron architecture on chromatin features in plants"
National Diversity in STEM · November 2024
"How to make an effective graphical abstract or scientific illustration"
Plant Biology 2024 · 150+ attendees · June 2024
"The Role of Introns in Plant Chromatin"
Plant Biology 2024 · June 2024
"Exploring the impact of intron architecture on chromatin features in plants"
Plant Biology 2024 · June 2024
"The Role of Introns in Plant Chromatin"
Plant Biology Graduate Group Tuesday Seminar, UC Davis · April 2024
"Understanding the role of introns on the histone code"
National Diversity in STEM · October 2023
"Intron Loss and Gain: Implications for Chromatin Biology in Arabidopsis Gene Duplicates"
Plant Biology 2023 · August 2023
"How does intron loss/gain affect chromatin marks in gene duplicates?"
Plant Sciences Symposium, UC Davis · May 2023
"How does intron loss/gain affect chromatin marks in gene duplicates?"
UC Davis Annual Biotechnology Program Retreat · March 2023
"How do IME introns contribute to the mutation rate and epigenetic landscape of their gene bodies?"
Plant Sciences Symposium, UC Davis · May 2022
"How does IME affect gene body mutations?"
Plant Biology Graduate Group Seminar, UC Davis · March 2022
"What Kind of Sequences Support Transcription Initiation in Response to Stimulatory Introns?"
Undergraduate Research Conference, UC Davis · April 2019