I am an assistant professor at the University of Akron, where I conduct research encompassing vector biology and parasitology using the kissing bug (triatomine) - Trypanosoma cruzi system. My doctoral research at the University of Georgia (UGA) focused on mosquito reproductive endocrinology and mosquito-microbe interactions, while my postdoctoral training, also at UGA, was in molecular parasitology using T. cruzi as a model. My overarching research interest is untangling the molecular interactions that dictate acquisition and transmission of pathogens by hematophagous arthropod vectors.