My path to becoming an addiction psychiatrist is unconventional. While studying Psychobiology at UCLA, I became fascinated with the progress of genomics and bioinformatics. I continue to wait for medicine to tap the enormous potential of genomics in the context of mental illness.

Prior to medical school, I worked at the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute. I immersed myself in an environment of cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology, genome science, and bioinformatics. Under the supervision of Nikos Kyrpides, I trained to analyze genomic data filtered from tremendous amounts of DNA sequence data.

After the formation of the Education Outreach Department, I joined Cheryl Kerfeld (my undergraduate mentor) in an initiative to accelerate the implementation of genomics and bioinformatics in undergraduate classrooms. To fulfill this mandate, I worked alongside a team of gifted software engineers, UI designers, and researchers to prototype the IMG Annotation Collaboration Tool. I had the privilege of training the first two cohorts of professors and researchers. The tool was used around the world to teach the basics of analyzing the genetic makeup of their own "adopted" microbial genomes.

After my successes as a research associate, bioinformatics analyst, and project manager, I continued onto medical school to pursue a career in psychiatry. I chose this specialty with the intention of treating substance abuse and addiction.

Individuals and families coping with mental illness and addiction are among the most disenfranchised groups in today’s society. Psychiatrists are uniquely qualified to utilize a biological, psychological, social, and spiritual framework of diagnosing and treating mental illness and substance use disorders. I feel blessed to help work alongside motivated individuals, whose path towards recovery is never easy, yet assuredly rewarding.