Education: 

1988-1992 - B.S. St. Marys University, San Antonio, Texas, Department of Biology  

1994-2000 - Ph.D. University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Department of  Microbiology & Immunology

2000-2005 - Postdoctoral Fellow, Georgetown University Medical School (GUMC) Department of Microbiology & Immunology.

2005-2007 - Research Assistant Professor (GUMC)

2008- Present  Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology (Biomedical Sciences since 2012) at ETSU

Research/Teaching Interests: 

My laboratory focuses on understanding how the opportunistic fungus Candida albicans regulates morphogenesis through quorum sensing. Our research examines how the signaling molecule farnesol controls the shift between yeast and hyphal growth forms, a process closely tied to the organism’s virulence. The long-term goal is to better understand these regulatory pathways and develop new antifungal compounds that target them.

A second area of research explores how C. albicans interacts with other microbial species, particularly within biofilms found in clinically important environments. We study how microbes communicate and compete within these communities to better understand persistence, antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections.