I am an evolutionary biologist, currently working as a postdoctoral research associate in the Laboratory of Katy Heath at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

My research interests are framed into the question of how genetic rearrangements such as horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and gene duplications drive the evolution of genomes and the biodiversity in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and how the fate of those rearrangements is modulated by evolutionary forces and ecological relationships. My methods involve developing and applying bioinformatic and phylogenetic tools to detect historical and current evidence of the effects of these genetic rearrangements on diversity. The two types of genetic rearrangements that are the focus of my research are HGT, a critical source of genetic diversity in prokaryotes; and gene duplications, a critical source of genetic diversity for eukaryotes.