Professional Background

I matriculated into the MD program at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2015 and was accepted into the MD-PhD program in the summer of 2017. My aim is to translate cell-based immunotherapies into clinical trials and ultimately FDA approved somatic cell products for the treatment of advanced cancer.

During my undergraduate studies at Kansas State University, I began studying immunology and developed a particular interest in T-cells. Throughout my didactic medical education at the University of Kansas Medical center, I was fortunate to find several clinical mentors, namely Dr. Joseph McGuirk and Dr. Neil Dunavin, who facilitated my interaction with patients receiving T cell-based immunotherapies. They also encouraged my participation in logistical meetings which allowed me to better understand the process of specimen collection, transport, ex vivo cell manufacturing, and the administration of T-cell therapies.

During the research phase, I joined Dr. Andrew Godwin’s lab and started a project focused on the adoptive transfer of renal cell carcinoma infiltrating lymphocytes. I was fortunate to find many great clinical mentors during my time in the program as well; however, I realized while working with T-cells in the Godwin that I wanted to pursue a career focused on research as opposed to clinical care.

Mentor: Andrew K. Godwin, Ph.D., Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

After completing the MD-PhD Program at KUMC, I accepted a position at Moffitt Cancer Center. I continue to work on novel T-cell-based immunotherapies with the aim of translating basic findings into clinical trials and ultimately FDA approved somatic cell products.