A Little Bit About Me


So, you want to know a little bit about me....Well, I am flattered! Here's the scoop!

I've completed my PhD work at the University of Kentucky and I am currently a postdoc at the University of Illinois. I'm pursuing an exciting area of research, which you can find out more about here.

I'm originally from a small town in Illinois, where I lived with my mom Trish, my younger sister Dawn, and our cat Brendan, who was named after Brendan Shanahan by my sister.

I have an adorable cat that I have named Grinder, in honor of the Red Wings "Grind Line". Sometimes he is a good kitty and sometimes he is a bad kitty.


I attended Staunton High School and I was a member of the Class of '95! We just had our 10 year reunion. It was an interesting experience and it was good to catch up with some people. Follow the pawprints to the Home of the Bulldogs!

I am a proud member of the Class of '99 at what I think is one of the greatest universities in the country.....Washington University in St. Louis. Wanna visit my alma mater?

I am fascinated by science, so I graduated in May of 1999 with a degree in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry.

I worked for 1 1/2 years at the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University School of Medicine. It is a very exciting project. Click Here to learn more about the work being done at the GSC.

I completed my graduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Kentucky. I worked in the lab of Dr. Stephen Testa, where I focused on catalytic RNA.

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am working in the lab of Dr. Scott Silverman. I've moved into the area of catalytic DNA. I also have the opportunity to work with some great graduate and undergraduate students, which is preparing me for my future job. Check out my Research page for the latest scoop on my projects!


Some of My Favorite Things

I LOVE hockey, especially Detroit Red Wings hockey. My favorite players are Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, and pretty much the rest of the team. I also like Ian Laperriere from the Colorado Avalanche. Click here to check out my hockey section.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to go up into space. I think it would be amazing to experience weightlessness and to see the whole world under your feet. If you want to find out anything about space shuttle missions, check out the NASA page.

I love to listen to music, especially pop music. I listen to a wide mix of music, but some favorites include Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, Five For Fighting (a hockey penalty for a name...bonus!), Maroon 5...I could go on and on. One of my favorite singers is Robbie Williams. Hopefully one of these days I will get to see him in concert and will not have to go to Europe to do it.

I also love 80's stuff , so I really enjoy VH1's recent specials on the 80's. Their 90's special was also fantastic!

I've recently taken a liking to British comedies and movies. I recommend checking out anything with Colin Firth or Martin Freeman. Definitely try to catch The Office. It is brilliant. If you can't check out the original British version, definitely catch the American version of The Office. I wasn't sure at first, but it has really come into its own and it is hilarious. Make sure to check out Dwight's blog, Schrute Space. Another great TV show is How I Met Your Mother. I watch it for Barney. His blog is so funny, yet so wrong!

Here are some of my favorite links


For more about me, check out my MySpace page.

I like to get e-mail