I’ve always been interested in the intersection of physics and biology, and I studied physics as an undergrad at the College of Creative Studies at UCSB. Between tinkering with optical traps and watching mitochondria as they make their way across embryos and neurons, I grew to love the wacky world of biology and wondered how and where the rules of physics could govern the hot mess (quite literally) that is the cell. After my master’s in physics at UCI, I signed up to study quite possibly the wackiest organism of all: archaea!

 

I’m interested in the ways that archaea have adapted a variety of cytoskeletal elements that are found in bacteria and eukaryotes (and even mitochondria!) to understand how archaea utilize these polymers for spatiotemporal organization and homeostasis (of growth and form).