My goal as a mentor is to help students understand both how an experiment works and why it is worth doing. Research training should build practical skills alongside the confidence to question assumptions, interpret results, and communicate a scientific argument.

Experience in research training

At UConn, I have mentored seven graduate and undergraduate researchers in nanoparticle synthesis, characterization, and RNA delivery. I have also co-authored conference presentations with trainees at the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR).

As the founding graduate student in my doctoral laboratory, I helped establish synthesis and characterization workflows and trained researchers who joined later. This experience gave me an appreciation for the connection between a dependable experimental foundation and a trainee’s ability to pursue new questions.

The mentoring approach I aim to build

01

Start with the question

Help trainees connect experimental choices to a clear question in biology or nanomaterial design, and understand what the results can and cannot establish.

02

Build a strong foundation

Support careful synthesis, characterization, documentation, and analysis so that practical confidence grows alongside scientific judgment.

03

Develop a scientific voice

Encourage increasing ownership of experimental plans and interpretation, with opportunities to explain findings through presentations and writing.

Classroom teaching

Teaching Assistant — Foundations of Biomechanics (BENG 226)
University of California, San Diego · April–June 2017

For this graduate course in the Department of Bioengineering, I led weekly discussion sections, prepared supplementary course resources, and graded problem sets and examinations. This teaching experience complements my laboratory mentoring and my interest in connecting engineering principles with biological problems.

Professional service