I earned my B.S. in Neuroscience from Union College, where I worked on brain-computer interface technology using EEG-based spellers to help individuals with complex communication disorders communicate, sparking my interest in the intersection of neuroscience and technology. I continued my training in graduate school, completing an M.S. in Neurobiology, where I studied spatiotemporal sequence learning in mice in the Gavornik Lab, investigating the role of the muscarinic type 2 receptor in the visual cortex, and later studied the potential protective role of microRNAs in layer II of the entorhinal cortex during the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in the Roussarie Lab. Somewhere along the way, I developed an unhealthy fascination with the synapse—why are some connections more vulnerable than others, and what happens when the mechanisms that maintain and eliminate them go wrong? I am currently a Research Assistant working on the J&J complement protein project, studying synaptic interactors of C1q at vulnerable synapses in Huntington’s disease, with the goal of understanding complement-regulated microglial pruning of cortico-striatal synapses and identifying potential therapeutic targets. Outside the lab, I love playing tennis, skiing, reading science fiction and fantasy, and recently completed my first—and possibly last—half marathon. Long term, I hope to take the skills I’ve developed in academic neuroscience research and transition into industry, where I can apply them toward understanding disease and developing new therapeutic approaches.