A life-long lover of dinosaurs, I began learning fossil preparation in Dr. Paul Sereno’s lab during the summer of my second year of undergraduate study. I continued working for Dr. Sereno as a teaching assistant for both of his classes and conducting research on pneumaticity in pterosaurs and birds for my honors thesis. I received a Bachelors in Science with honors and a specialization in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Chicago.

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Since then, I have continued research on the evolution of vertebrate flight. In 2021, I completed a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology at the University of Chicago, focusing on the morphology and evolution of the avian flight apparatus in relation to ecology and function. Ultimately, I want to compare morphological adaptations for vertebrate flight to address how pterosaurs might have evolved to body sizes so much larger than those of birds and bats today.

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In addition to research, I am very passionate about teaching and outreach. I travelled with the Dinosaur Science class for their field trip to help teach the students excavation techniques. I have been a teaching assistant for multiple classes, ranging from human anatomy at the Pritzker School of Medicine to paleontology classes to an interdisciplinary class on the origin and evolution of intelligent life. I have also visited Chicago-area schools to talk to students about paleontology and have given many tours of the Sereno Fossil Lab to local student groups. I work for the Dozin’ with the Dinos program at the Field Museum to teach elementary-aged students and their families about prehistoric animals and modern birds. I am also one of the founders of the University of Chicago Paleontology Club, a club to bring together those interested in learning about paleontology, either as a career or a hobby.