My passion for genetic research was cultivated as Howard Hughes Research Scholar in medical school when I worked in a neurogenetics lab at the NIH studying histone acetylation patterns of the SMN gene to identify new potential therapeutic targets for spinal muscular atrophy. I became very interested in genetics after this experience and combined genetics with obstetrics to become triple board certified Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Clinical Genetics specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. During fellowship, I had the opportunity to work with Hal Dietz at Johns Hopkins on my thesis about aortic dissection in pregnancy in women with Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndrome and investigated the potential risk of breast feeding on postpartum dissection rates. From this cohort, I have determined future variables that I want to investigate in a larger population as potential risk factors for aortic dissection. I collaborated with Alan Braverman at Washington University during my fellowship to examine pregnancy outcomes in women with Marfan syndrome who had aortic root replacement prior to a pregnancy. I have been an invited speaker at the Marfan and Loeys-Dietz Foundation conferences secondary to my expertise in obstetrical management and reproductive planning in women with Marfan syndrome and related disorders. I serve on the Quality of Life Advisory Board and Professional Advisory Board for the Marfan Foundation and have been nominated to the genetics committee by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
