My undergraduate experience started at Bates College, and included a year at the University of Montana where I became interested in plant-soil interactions. After receiving a BS in Biology from Bates, I worked in the field of genetics at MIT's Whitehead Institute followed by an additional two years at DeCode Genetics, an Icelandic biotech company in the heart of Reykjavik. Seeking warmer weather and the Rocky Mountains once again, I started a doctorate program at Colorado State University, with the intention of applying molecular biology and genetics to help solve enivoronmental problems. Specifically, I wanted to learn of how plants can tolerate heavy metals and other environmental pollutants. Researching how plants can naturally tolerate heavy metals has applications to the field of phytoremediation, which is the use of plants to clean and remediate contaminated soil or groundwater. Used appropriately, phytoredmediation is safe, cost-effective manner, and more natural than conventional engineering approaches. The central focus of my research at Coastal Carolina University seeks to better understand the pathways (i.e. genetic mechanisms) that allow plants to tolerate abiotic stress, particularly heavy metals and selenium. If this seems interesting and you want to get involved in an undergraduate research project, click here.