Faculty member at The Scripps Research Institute where her lab studies RNA structural dynamics in viruses, both to better understand how viruses work and find new ways of making antiviral drugs
Time at Duke: “I experienced Duke as a student in the M.D./Ph.D. program, where I trained for nine years. I was fortunate enough to cross paths with brilliant mentors in both the School of Medicine and Department of Biochemistry who fundamentally shaped me as a scientist and person, as well as extraordinary peers who have become lifelong friends. I ultimately decided to pursue full-time research instead of clinical practice, but lessons from all my training experiences profoundly impact the work I do today.”
Future: “I have been in training for most of my life, so to spend the last two years actually using this training to build and lead a lab group that is making real discoveries, which could ultimately impact millions of people, is a dream come true. As a woman who did not grow up in an academic family, I looked up to the women in science who paved the way for greater equity and inclusion, and I feel a responsibility to carry that progress forward by continuing to break down barriers in academia for all people of marginalized identities.”
On Science: “I am incredibly excited about the promise of RNA as a new class of drug targets. Almost all prescription drugs we have today are molecules that bind to proteins, which are fundamentally different from RNAs on a structural level. These differences have made RNA an elusive target, but if we could target it, there is potential to discover drugs for many diseases and pathogens we do not currently have treatments for. We are currently focused on HIV, a virus that claims the lives of over 600,000 people worldwide each year. Treatments that suppress the virus exist but are often costly, inaccessible, and must be taken for the rest of one’s life, and so it is my sincere hope that we can discover a true cure for HIV by targeting its RNA. Armed with insights from targeting HIV, we are excited to then set our sights on other big problems such as emerging infectious diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and aging. n
"I feel deeply connected to my work and am incredibly humbled and grateful to be someone that both Scripps Research and the American taxpayers have entrusted to turn their financial resources into new knowledge and therapeutics."