BIO

I am a Core Bioinformatics Scientist II at the Van Andel Institute, where I build software to extract meaningful data from complex biological images. Within the Optical Imaging Core, my work focuses on developing tools to analyze and visualize massive, multi-dimensional microscopy datasets.

My research sits at the intersection of biology and computation. I utilize advanced microscopy to capture the dynamics of living cells over extended periods, while simultaneously building the software needed to process these phenomena. Together with VAI collaborators, I apply these methods to better understand the mechanisms of human diseases, with a primary focus on cancer and Parkinson’s disease. I am currently focused on the frontier of image informatics, specifically leveraging AI and machine learning to automate and enhance data extraction and understanding.

Previously, I served as the Biological Image Analysis Group Leader at the University of Colorado Boulder. There, I led the Bioimaging Lab — a collaborative undergraduate research group — and taught Quantitative Optical Imaging across the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

  • Van Andel Institute
    Optical Imaging Core
    2025 - Present

    Core Bioinformatics Scientist II

  • University of Colorado Boulder
    BioFrontiers Institute
    2024 - 2025

    Biological Image Analysis Group Leader

    • Co-lecturer: Quantitative Optical Imaging
    • PI: Bioimaging Lab

  • University of Colorado Boulder
    BioFrontiers Institute
    2016 - 2024

    Image Analysis Specialist

  • University of Colorado
    Department of Electrical Engineering
    2014 - 2016

    Postdoctoral Research Associate

  • Washington University in St Louis
    Department of Biomedical Engineering
    2011 - 2014

    Postdoctoral Research Associate

    • Photoacoustic wavefront shaping

  • University of Otago
    Department of Physics
    2007 - 2011

    PhD

    • Optical detection of ultrasound
    • Spatial homodyne detection

  • University of Otago
    Department of Physics
    2003 - 2006

    BSc (Hons I)

    • Ion trapping in high-finesse optical traps

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

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