Administrative Accomplishments

As a member of the University of Washington Faculty Senate, I am the faculty senator representing the Department of Pharmacology (2020-current). I served on the UW Faculty Council for University Relations (2020-2022) which works to build efficient communication between the UW School of Medicine and the University administration.  I served a three-year term (2019-2022) as a member of the University of Washington (UW) Dean’s Standing Committee on Women in Medicine and Science (SWIMS), where I had an active role towards advocating for increased childcare access for faculty and trainees. My work on the childcare access issues on the SOM SWIMS committee, led to my nomination to the University Taskforce on Expanding Childcare in 2022. I recently completed a two-year term serving on the executive board of the Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at UW as a counselor representing junior faculty (2020-2022). I have served as the chair or co-chair of the UW Department of Pharmacology Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee since 2018 and have contributed significantly to our departmental EDI policies, outreach and diversity. Recently, I was elected to UW School of Medicine Council for Research and Graduate Education for a 2-year term (2022-2024). 

Research Areas

Signaling cascades mediated by protein kinases regulate all aspects of neuronal development.  Although significant genomic evidence has accumulated implicating kinases in neurological diseases, there are wide gaps in our understanding of how the human kinome controls neuronal development, how its dysfunction manifests in disease, and whether kinases can be targeted with specificity for therapeutic purposes. My laboratory at the University of Washington is interested in elucidating protein kinase signaling pathways in neuronal development as well as investigating how their dysfunction leads to diseases such as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and schizophrenia.  My lab applies a combination of powerful approaches in chemical-genetics, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, high-resolution live cell imaging and quantitative proteomics to investigate the role of kinases and their downstream targets in development and disease. 

Other Society Memberships/Activities

• American Society for Cell Biology
  • ASCB Annual meeting abstract review taskforce
• Society for Neuroscience
• Sigma Xi