I recently graduated from Texas A&M University with a MS degree and will be attending LSU as a PhD student in Fall 2012. My previous research was under the direction of Jessica Light and was focused broadly on evolutionary biology with an emphasis on molecular systematics and population genetics of heteromyid rodents. I was also active in characterizing polymorphic microsatellite loci for several mammalian vertebrates and their lice for future co-evolution work.
I have many research ideas I would like to work on during my time at LSU, including the use of phylogenomic techniques to observe HIV transmission, tumor phylogenetics, and improvement of current algorithms through the use of parallelization. My overall goal is to obtain a firm understanding in bioinformatics/computational biology; therefore, future research will incorporate a blend of programming, genetics, and statistics.
Outside of research, I enjoy reading fantasy books and watching/playing sports. I am a big football fan, so it will be a pleasant change to root for a winning team. I am very excited to experience Louisiana culture and have my fill of Cajun food!