About Me
Exploring the intersection of computational biology, genetics, and global health
My Journey
I am a 6th year PhD candidate at UC Davis in the Population Biology Department, under the supervision of Dr. Brenna Henn. My research goals are two-fold:
My work primarily focuses on the South African Coloured (SAC) communities, known for their exceptionally diverse human ancestry and residence in TB-endemic regions. Through this work, I aim to deepen our understanding of how genetic and social factors influence disease outcomes.
Future Aspirations
After graduation, I aspire to transition into industry, where I can apply the computational and analytical skills honed during my PhD to advance health therapeutics
Research Interests
- Computational biology and bioinformatics
- Population genetics and genomics
- Disease susceptibility and genetic risk factors
- Statistical methods for genetic data analysis
- Tuberculosis epidemiology and genetics
- Multiomic data integration
Current Focus
- Tuberculosis progression in South African populations
- Genetic and transcriptomic biomarker discovery
- Machine learning applications in disease prediction
- Diverse population genomics methodologies
- Global health computational solutions
Current Work & Impact
My research directly contributes to understanding tuberculosis susceptibility in genetically diverse populations. By developing computational methods and analyzing multiomic datasets, I aim to identify biomarkers that could lead to earlier detection and more personalized treatment approaches. This work has implications not only for TB management but also for advancing precision medicine approaches in underrepresented populations globally.