Sixty feet below the surface of Caribbean waters, a large spotted eagle ray glided a few feet from me — and I knew I had found my path.
Where Science Meets the Sea
I'm a marine biologist and environmental scientist driven by a deep curiosity about the ocean and a commitment to protecting it. With over a decade of combined experience in biology and ecology — from undergraduate environmental studies through biomedical research and a marine biology master's thesis — I bring a rare breadth of scientific training to the coast I call home.
My M.S. thesis at TAMUCC (expected April 2026) investigates psilocybin as a treatment for major depressive disorder, using Aplysia californica — the California sea hare — as a model organism. With its remarkably tractable nervous system of large, identifiable neurons, Aplysia offers a powerful window into the synaptic mechanisms behind psychedelic-assisted therapies. Before turning fully to the sea, I spent over three years as a Staff Research Assistant at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, contributing to peer-reviewed neuroscience publications.
Outside the lab, I serve as Board Treasurer for the Science Graduate Student Organization at TAMUCC, conduct coastal ecology fieldwork in the Laguna Madre, and volunteer at the AMOS Rehabilitation Keep in Port Aransas, caring for rescued sea turtles under a U.S. FWS permit. I'm also a PADI Rescue Diver with a deep love for the water I study.
