About: Heather

Biography:

I received my B.S. in Biology from Oregon State University and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. My Master's thesis research was in the area of immunology and vaccine development, specifically working to develop a vaccine against the bacterial pathogen Francisella tularensis. I performed my PhD research in the lab of Dr. Lee Niswander at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, where I truly became a developmental biologist. My research focused on how the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition is regulated during neural tube closure, and how newly identified genes involved in this process may also be involved in breast cancer metastasis. I am currently a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Chenbei Chang at the University of Alabama Birmingham. I am enjoying the opportunity to both continue developing myself as a research scientist and gain valuable teaching experience through my IRACDA fellowship. I am also an avid outdoorsman and when not in the lab, I'm somewhere in the mountains with my husband and dog.

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