I am a PhD student in the Experimental Medicine program co-supervised by Dr. Genelle Lunken and Dr. Bruce Vallance. I came to study at the University of British Columbia after completing an MSc at the University of Calgary exploring the effects of a dietary intervention on macrophage function in patients with Crohn's disease. Being diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 10 has motivated me to study IBD, and am currently using intestinal organoids to develop advanced models of the human intestine. These models will be run under very low oxygen conditions to permit important gut bacteria to survive inside these mini-guts, with the goal of developing novel microbe-based therapies for IBD. Outside of the lab, I am also an active member of the local Crohn's and Colitis Canada chapter and enjoy hiking and playing card games in my free time.