Conference Speakers

My research career began in high school, when I spent summers working in an NIH-funded laboratory studying the role of neutrophil activation in organ injury. This early exposure to biomedical research sparked a lifelong interest in understanding the complex mechanisms of inflammation and hemostasis. As an undergraduate, I continued to pursue this interest, graduating summa cum laude. I then matriculated into the University of Vermont College of Medicine, where I was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society.

After medical school, I returned to Colorado for general surgery residency, where I developed and piloted a unique integrated fellowship funded by an NIH T32 grant. This fellowship allowed me to rotate between clinical training and research, providing an opportunity to develop expertise in trauma-induced fibrinolysis and its role in bleeding and clotting disorders. By the end of my residency, I had authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and completed a PhD in clinical science, with a focus on the mechanisms of fibrinolysis in trauma and its clinical implications for transfusion medicine.

I furthered my post-graduate training at the University of Colorado in abdominal transplantation, where I received the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Veloxis Fellowship Grant to support my career development. Initially, my research focused on the risks of bleeding and clotting associated with the fibrinolytic system, but I soon recognized the broader impact of fibrinolysis on transplant outcomes. Specifically, I discovered that the recipient’s fibrinolytic profile could significantly influence graft function and patient survival following transplantation. This led to additional support for my work through a K99/R00 award from NHLBI, which I continued to build upon during my early years as faculty.

I have recently relocated my laboratory to the AdventHealth Transplant Institute at Porter Hospital, where I serve as the Surgical Director of Research, Kidney Transplant, and Living Donation. My current research focuses on the complex relationship between a transplant recipient’s fibrinolytic system and fibrin deposition in donor organs, investigating how this affects graft dysfunction and regeneration following transplantation. I also continue to assess bleeding and clotting complications across a variety of clinical settings, aiming to better understand the role of fibrinolysis in both transfusion-related outcomes and broader patient care.