I went to UC Davis as a microbiology major, where I explored my interest in infectious diseases by working as an undergraduate researcher and a lab instructor for an upper division medical microbiology course. In Dr. Bruno Chomel's zoonotic disease research lab, I learned about conducting hands-on research from raw samples to genetically sequenced results by studying Bartonella infections in dogs in Mexico, the Philippines, and other places from around the world. I also benefited from getting the opportunity to teach microbiology lab techniques and principles with Dr. Rance LeFebvre, where I led the laboratory component of PMI 127 - Medical Bacteria and Fungi. 
Enter a serendipitous class recommendation from a friend right as I was about to start my final fall quarter at UC Davis: "One Health: Human, Animal & Environment Interactions." Billed as a course to broaden perspectives about tackling issues related to global disease and health, it emphasized the overlapping interfaces and interactions of the three traditional pillars of the "One Health triad"--humans, animals, and the environment. Not only did this class keep me hooked with lectures and case studies about bizarre environmental health conundrums and threats of zoonotic spillover, it helped me to start thinking across disciplines and outside of my own infectious disease knowledge bubble. 
Since then, I have grown to appreciate the value of training to be a specialist as part of a multidisciplinary team and have been pursuing my One Health education actively. I moved to London in 2018 and earned my master's in One Health - Infectious Diseases through a program offered jointly by the Royal Veterinary College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and completed thesis research comparing zoonotic bacteria in fleas collected from community cats throughout the U.S. Most recently, I was doing graduate work in Wyoming on elk genetics and chronic wasting disease, but I'm now transitioning back to a path studying vector-borne diseases.

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