I am currently a graduate student in the Doebley Lab at University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am working on finemapping of domestication genes, specifically on genes involved in ear internode length and shattering. I am also working on a larger project looking at fitness related traits in teosinte population.

Why I Became a Scientist:
I have always been a fan of plants, and I would really like to know more about them. I realized that I could understand plants better by going into science, and here I am working with maize. Maize is a great plant model to study as it offers both genetical and agronomical knowledge. As far as I have been in the graduate school, I feel that I have learned a lot more about plants and not just maize in general. The genetics of maize is so complex and yet fascinating at the same time. There is still so much to learn about plants, and I would love to continue in the field of plant science!