Education
B.S. in Cognitive Science - UC Irvine (2024)
Research Experience
- La Spada Lab (UC Irvine, 2021-2024)
Studied genetic risk factors for ALS and RNA metabolism dysfunction in C9orf72 ALS. Helped expand research from cell models to mouse models, and helped discover that overexpression of certain components of RNA exosome complex lowers levels of dipeptide proteins which have been correlated with neuronal death.
Research Interests
I am broadly interested in how protein aggregation disrupts neuronal function and contributes to neurodegeneration, particularly in the context of diseases like ALS and Huntington’s. I’m also drawn to the computational modeling of these processes and the molecular pathways that mediate proteostasis and cell death.
Publications
Arnold FJ, Cui Y, Michels S, Colwin MR, Stockford CM, Ye W, Maheswari Jawahar V, Jansen-West K, Philippe J, Gulia R, Gou Y, Tam OH, Menon S, Situ WG, Cazarez SL, Zandi A, Ehsani KC, Howard S, Dickson DW, Gale Hammell M, Prudencio M, Petrucelli L, Li W, La Spada AR. TDP-43 dysregulation of polyadenylation site selection is a defining feature of RNA misprocessing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. J Clin Invest. 2025 Jun 2;135(11):e182088.
Other Interests
I enjoy traveling, playing video games and ttRPGs, and trying new foods!