I’m originally from the Jersey Shore, born and raised. I went to a comprehensive four-year public high school in Freehold, NJ called Biotechnology High School where I first became interested in biological sciences and engineering. From there, I went on to the University of Miami (Go Canes!) in Florida where I received my Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering while being heavily involved in many student organizations. While at Miami, I got the opportunity to work on translational research in ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute surrounding differentiation protocols of retinal ganglion cells from different stem cell populations. I graduated in May of 2017 from the best four years I could ask for and went straight to UCI’s Biomedical Engineering program for a Ph.D. with DELTAi and Dr. Athanasiou’s team. Continuing as a DELTAi postdoctoral scholar, I hope to address some of the biggest unmet needs in musculoskeletal disease and degeneration with long term goals of entering the industry of tissue engineering. In my spare time, I enjoy playing beach volleyball, surfing, and traveling the world with friends.