I am a veterinarian born and raised in southeastern Louisiana. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in 2004 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2008 from Louisiana State University. As an undergraduate, I was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute scholarship to study the role of matrix metalloproteinases in the pathogenesis of equine laminitis. While in veterinary school I spent my summers pursuing research projects; first, as a Merck Merial scholar examining the expression of cyclooxygenase in an equine model of ascending placentitis and later, as a Cornell University Havemeyer Fellow investigating transcription factors involved in equine trophoblast differentiation and endometrial cup formation. After graduating from veterinary school, I spent one year as an associate veterinarian in private practice before returning to academia as a post-DVM research fellow in equine reproductive immunology at Cornell University. I started my PhD training at Cornell University in the summer of 2010 and am very pleased to be joining the Davisson Lab to complete my thesis research.

I plan to build upon my knowledge of equine trophoblast biology and apply it to the BPH/5 model of preeclampsia. Currently, I am investigating the expression patterns of various transcription factors involved in trophoblast differentiation in developmentally delayed BPH/5 embryos. My thesis research will shed light on impaired trophoblast invasion and subsequent placental vascular dysfunction, hopefully contributing to our global knowledge of preeclampsia.