I am a graduate student in the Field of Microbiology with a broad interest in metazoan-prokaryote symbiosis. I am particularly interested in studying how prokaryotes affect their host's fitness. In the Douglas lab, I am using Drosophila as a model host, studying how diet influences the composition of the gut microbiota and its ramifications. I graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences. Prior to entering graduate school, my previous research was on projects in Elisabetta Bini's lab studying the hyperthermophilic archaeon Solfolobus solfataricus, as well as antibiotic resistance in a waste water treatment plant.