What I’m Currently Doing

I have just begun my PhD in Dr. Alison Feder’s lab at the University of Washington department of Genome Sciences. My work is in cancer evolution and intratumor heterogeneity focusing on clonal spatial reconstruction and growth heterogeneity.

Research Projects

Ongoing projects

Using clock-like SBS1 Mutations on Phylogenies to Calibrate Cancer Clocks
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON GENOME SCIENCES, FEDER LAB
My graduate work develops methods to use clock-like mutational processes in cancer to calibrate phylogenetic branch lengths. Standard approaches biasing branch-length inference due to temporal and spatial variation in tumor mutational processes. I developed SigPruner, a simulation framework that uses SBS1 (CpG transition) mutations, which are clock-like, to correct for this bias.

The Bayesian Inference Of HIV Drug Selection Rate In Different Drug Environments UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, DWYER LAB
Develop a novel method to quantify the change in select pressure on a pathogen within a host after a change in environment using non-synonymous to synonymous mutation rate ratio and coalescent theory. We then apply this method to study HIV selection after a change in drug therapy.

Previous projects

Metastatic Seeding in Bladder & Prostate Cancer
FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER, HA LAB
For my 5 week rotation project in the Ha lab, I aimed to better understand metastatic seeding routes by applying a metastatic seeding software, MACHINA. This illuminated unique migratory histories of bladder and prostate cancer clones across primary tumors and metastatic sites. Itagi et al (2026)

Early COVID-19 Pandemic in the Caribbean
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, GHEDIN LAB, SYSTEMS GENOMICS SECTION
Characterize the early COVID-19 Pandemic in Haiti and the Dominican Republic using SARS-CoV-2 sequencing and epidemiological data. We are particularly focused on the variants present in the Caribbean and how/when they were introduced in and out of the Caribbean. Publications; Mushegian, Kreitman, et al (2024), Kreitman et al (2026)

COVID-19 Evolution and surveillance sequencing
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, GHEDIN LAB, SYSTEMS GENOMICS SECTION
Sequence SARS-CoV-2 samples for various projects to better understand evolution and transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Publications: Epling et al (2022), Saharia et al (2022), Roder et al (2023)

Predicting COVID-19 Disease Severity Using SARS-CoV-2 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, GHEDIN LAB, SYSTEMS GENOMICS SECTION
Build logistic regression models of COVID-19 disease severity using patient demographics and underlying conditions with viral clade and single nucleotide polymorphism data. View Poster Here

Regulation Of MCL1 & TSC1 By Epstein Barr Virus Latent Membrane Protein 1
COLORADO COLLEGE, HATTON LAB
Study how Epstein Barr Virus modulates oncogenic human protein that are implicated in tumorigenesis and may contributed to the formation of Epstein Barr Virus related B cell lymphomas. View my honors thesis here

Regulation Of The Hallmarks Of Cancer By Epstein Barr Virus In EBV+ B Cell Lymphomas
COLORADO COLLEGE, HATTON LAB
Write a review article using the framework of the hallmarks of cancer to research how Epstein Barr Virus can promote B cell lymphoma formation. View Poster Here

Dissection-Enabled Scaffold Assisted Resection: A Novel Technique For Resection Of GI Neoplasia
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, WAXMAN GROUP
Shadow surgery and compile patient information for a publication of a novel technique for resecting non-lifting or residual GI neoplasia
Publication: Stier et al (2018)