Hey Guys!

About Me

I was born and raised in Yorba Linda, California and attended Chapman University from 2005 to 2010, in which I earned a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and Molecular Biology. During those five years I discovered my love for research and delving into curiosity-based questions via scientific instrumentation. I initially thought that research would be a great place for me to launch my career and that’s what motivated me to move to the East Coast to attend Georgetown University for my doctoral studies. 

During this time, I was travelling and presenting my research at various conferences sharing ideas and constantly thinking what I could do with a PhD degree. These opportunities to talk to fellow researchers and gain insight on how to take my research to the next level was invaluable to me and provided me the ability to forge collaborations with other laboratories who had interests in similar research endeavors and access to alternative research instrumentation. In 2015, I obtained my PhD in Analytical Chemistry. 

When I was wrapping up my PhD, I was in search of a career that could be fulfilling but also fruitful in giving back. I thought “what better way to impact people and the world than in healthcare?” Since childhood, my father was a primary care physician, so I have always had an interest in the health industry. I always found a driving force to my research to be health-centric especially my fellowship proposal into single cell analysis. This presented a new obstacle in my journey: I lacked a formal education in the health industry and health care. So, I decided to further my education at Yale University with a focus on health administration and policy. In the accelerated program for PhDs and MDs, I was able to understand the intricacies of health policy decision-making, the cost benefit analysis for health research, and the macroeconomic necessities which dictate health policy in America.   

After receiving my Master’s in Public Health, I entered the job market in the health care arena with helping administratively provide care. The first couple of years were full of challenges, but like many workers in the health care industry, the COVID-19 Pandemic burnt me out and I began questioning my why. After a while I made my first career pivot into the tech industry where I ran operations for commercial partnerships. However, unlike the female-dominated health industry, tech is male-dominated, compared to the female dominated field of medical. I struggled with the new jargon and the different routine. 

Eventually my career stabilized and this process I began to reflect on my STEM Journey (and it’s not over yet!). I realized that other people have had a hard time pivoting their career and so I wanted to inspire other people to do the same to find a career that drives them. I also wished I had a roadmap, or a list of things one can do with a STEM career before spending more than a decade in schooling. Afterall, you don’t have to be a researcher or scientist after your PhD in order to make a difference no matter how large or small. 

In hopes to show that people could and should approach problems through reflection before action, I launched my first season of the STEM From Podcast: Where Does Your Journey STEM From? Since starting the podcast, I have worked in a variety of settings, but what I have found most rewarding is the ability to learn from others. Meeting and discussing folks’ careers is so rewarding. I even volunteered and worked at a variety of events! I learned so much and it helped drive me to record and release seasons 2 and 3 of the podcast. 

During all these changes, I spent lots of time with family, friends, and pets who were my support system through it all. While also being a full-time pet mom!