I was born in San Diego, California. I attended Santa Clara University and majored in Chemistry. In 2007, I entered the MD/PhD program at UCSD. I am currently working towards my PhD in Dr. Åsa Gustafsson’s laboratory. We are interested in mitochondrial integrity and autophagy in the setting of heart disease. Mitochondrial research lends itself readily to questions about human origins, prompting me to join the anthropogeny specialization track in 2012. I am interested in mitochondrial polymorphisms that affect human disease susceptibility. Evolutionary medicine and comparative biology have the potential to explain the incidence and pathophysiology of illnesses facing modern humans. Ultimately, understanding our origins may highlight new therapeutic opportunities.