Where is your hometown?  
Milwaukee, WI 

Where did you go for your undergraduate degree? 
University of Wisconsin-Madison 

What are your research interests? 
Drug discovery – relating physical properties of small molecules to first-pass metabolism and pharmacokinetics.  Computational biology – developing predictive or forecasting algorithms to assist preclinical drug discovery and development.

What exciting project are you working on? 
My thesis work is focused on learning how diversifications to a small molecule scaffold can impact metabolic stability and oral bioavailability.  By learning more about how enzymes recognize and metabolize certain drug families, we can help medicinal chemists design new drugs that have a lower probability of causing unwanted toxicity and a higher probability of being efficacious.  The exciting part of the project right now is using the experimental data we have generated over the last two years to design computer programs that make use of artificial intelligence to predict how potential drugs will be metabolized and identifying physical properties of the molecules that contribute to their recognition by drug metabolizing enzymes. 

What attracted you to FSM or to IGP? 
Several faculty members were conducting research that sparked my interests in drug discovery and I ultimately joined Dr. Martin Watterson’s laboratory.  Dr. Watterson has provided a dynamic and challenging training environment where I have been able to collaborate with scientists around the world, as well as developing my skills and knowledge in a variety of areas such as pharmacology, analytical biochemistry and structural biology.  There were also a number of unique resources here such as the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Translational Resource in the Center for Drug Discovery that made Northwestern stand out from other institutions and made it an exciting place to pursue drug discovery research. 

What has been the best (or worst) experience so far? 
I don’t think there has been a single best or worst experience so far.  The first year of graduate school was a bit frustrating in that you haven’t really settled into a lab yet and you are a bit of a nomad.  The latter part of graduate school has definitely been more rewarding in that things feel like they are coming together. Completing my Master’s degree was also definitely a highlight.

How would you describe the faculty at FSM? 
The FSM faculty exhibits a high level of commitment to the students.  The faculty I have interacted with have been a valuable resource in completing my research. 

How do you balance between being a mom and a PhD student? 
Abandon sleep. J  Actually, there are three things that help me strike a balance between the two roles.  First, I have an incredibly supportive husband.  Without his support, I wouldn’t be able to do either very well at all.  Second, I also have a supportive mentor in Dr. Watterson – with his guidance and example, I have learned how to be a better scientist and balance parental/student responsibilities. Finally, practicing effective time management.  You learn very quickly in graduate school how to balance your time between courses, the lab, etc.  Being a parent in graduate school means you multi-task constantly, prioritize activities, and try to remain flexible to adjust when needed – sometimes experiments need to be repeated or babies don’t sleep when they’re supposed to.  In the end, just try to make the most of your time (whether with family or at school) and focus on what’s important.

What are your plans for after graduation? 
I would like to continue working in a drug discovery environment that allows me to leverage my interdisciplinary training.