Currently, I am working as a research scientist with Dr. Mark Skidmore, Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University. I am examining microbial activity in glacial ices.

Previously, I worked with Dr. Jim Tiedje at the Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University until December 2007. There, I studied cold-adapted microorganisms isolated from Siberian permafrost to discover how microorganisms are able to survive and actively grow at temperatures below 0°C.  I came to Michigan State Univeristy in August 2003 as a member of the Center for Genomic and Evolutionary Studies on Microbial Life at Low Temperatures (a member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute) with the support of an NRC postdoctoral research associateship. 

I initiated the study of cold-adapted microorganisms in 2001 during my first postdoctoral appointment with Dr. Ken Nealson at the University of Southern California and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

As a member of Dr. Eugene Madsen's laboratory, I earned a PhD in microbiology from Cornell University in January, 2001. My doctoral thesis focused on the bioremediation of environmental pollutants at a contaminated groundwater site; emphasized in situ analysis of diversity, gene expression, and pollutant degradation; and was supported by an EPA STAR Fellowship.  

I received a BS in both biochemistry and civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in May, 1994.