Research
My work connects ubiquitin-mediated regulation in plants with chromatin regulation, protein homeostasis, and longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans. The organisms changed; the underlying question did not.
My postdoctoral research uses C. elegans to ask how chromatin-modifying proteins influence lifespan, stress resistance, transcriptional regulation, and the maintenance of protein homeostasis.
A major ongoing project examines PCAF-1, the worm ortholog of mammalian KAT2B/PCAF and a component of the SAGA chromatin-modifying complex. Public descriptions remain intentionally high-level while the work is ongoing.
My doctoral work focused on the Arabidopsis U-box E3 ubiquitin ligase PUB41 and the way post-translational regulation integrates development with environmental stress.
This work established roles for PUB41 in ABA-associated seed dormancy and drought response, while related work examines root-hair development and functional interaction with the auxin transporter PIN2.
I contributed to the development and testing of SKI PLACE, a CRISPR-based system that uses one plasmid framework to generate single-copy insertions at defined locations across all six C. elegans chromosomes.
The broader aim is practical: make precise transgenesis easier to design, reproduce, and share across the worm-research community.
The connecting thread
Cells survive change by deciding what to express, what to modify, what to repair, and what to remove.
In plants, I studied how ubiquitin signaling shapes developmental and drought responses. In worms, I study how chromatin regulation and proteostasis influence stress resilience and aging. Together, these projects form a continuous interest in the regulatory systems that preserve function when biology is challenged.
Earlier work in structural biology, host–pathogen interactions, membrane proteins, stem cells, and genetic model systems broadened the experimental vocabulary I bring to these questions without becoming separate themes on this site.
View the publicationsSelected scientific communication
Oral presentation on PCAF-1/KAT2B, proteostasis, and longevity.
Selected oral presentation, University of Connecticut.
Poster presentation, University of California, Davis.
Poster presentation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Panelist contributing to more accessible scientific communication across languages.
Research profiles