How did you decide to attend Prendie?
My mom and aunts attended Prendie, and my older brother went to Bonner, so it was a family tradition. I grew up in Lansdowne and attended St. Philomena’s, and nearly all of my classmates went on to Prendie and Bonner as well. I also received a partial scholarship, which helped make the decision even easier.
Tell us about your experience at Prendie.
Freshman year, I tried a little bit of everything, including track (unsuccessfully!) and the school play, Children of Eden. At the end of my freshman year, my family moved about 15 minutes away, and I began working after school at a title insurance company and at Dairy Queen.
In school, I became active in the National Honor Society, serving as president. Art was another constant, and I was able to take art classes all four years, where I especially loved painting. The relaxed atmosphere and creative outlet were welcome, and it helped to expand my circle of friends, relationships that I still have to this day.
What schooling did you pursue after Prendie?
After graduating, I attended Penn State University, earning a B.S. in Forensic Science with a biology focus and a minor in psychology. I loved the investigative side of science—how curiosity could become a tool for truth.
After college, I joined the American Red Cross, where I worked as a laboratory technologist. My lab work was a bit monotonous, and I wanted to challenge myself further, so I went on to earn a master’s degree in biotechnology at Thomas Jefferson University, deepening my understanding of how research could translate into real-world medical solutions.
A few years later, my career and studies took me across the country to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. There, I pursued a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences and Translational Medicine while working in immunology and cancer research. It was an incredible time of growth, during which I learned to bridge what I was working on in the lab with what was happening to patients in the real world. I was incredibly fortunate to work with many amazing scientists and clinicians who were supportive of both my work and my personal growth.
Today, I also hold an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, which helps me bridge the worlds of science and strategy in my current work.
Tell us about your career journey.
My path in science has been a steady progression. Early in my career at Cedars-Sinai, I focused on tumor immunology—exploring how the immune system interacts with cancer. That experience opened my eyes to the potential of immunotherapy and solidified my desire to work on treatments that could change patients’ lives.
Eventually, I transitioned from academia into biotech, joining Takeda Oncology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At Takeda, I worked on developing and analyzing biomarkers — essentially biological clues that reveal how a therapy is working. The work combined rigorous science with creative problem-solving, and I loved it.
I’m now an Associate Director in Translational Sciences at BioNTech SE, where I lead exploratory research for early-phase immune-oncology clinical trials, focusing on melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. My team studies how experimental drugs work within a patient to treat their cancer and aims to identify the patients most likely to benefit —and, just as importantly, those that may not. It’s both data-driven and deeply human work because our work impacts patient outcomes.
What inspired you to pursue a career in oncology?
I lost my uncle to cancer in 2010. While working in my first oncology lab in nanomedicine, I attended a conference that opened my eyes to the role that the immune system could play in fighting cancer. Seeing the possibility of harnessing our own immune system was transformative. It’s what ultimately drove me to pursue a Ph.D. and dedicate my career to translational medicine.
Were there teachers or experiences at Prendie that influenced your path?
Definitely, my freshman biology teacher, Mrs. Citro, who also taught my mom 30 years earlier, was so enthusiastic about science—especially during frog dissections! Her passion made biology come alive. Ms. Wiley, my physics teacher, encouraged creative, hands-on projects, such as building a roller coaster and designing shoes that could walk on eggs without breaking them. And together with Dr. Wertz, my chemistry teacher, these women provided the strong foundation I still rely on today.
Those classes planted early seeds of curiosity. Even when I started college as a psychology major, those lessons stayed with me and ultimately shaped my career.
What do you find most rewarding about your work?
Seeing positive responses in our clinical trials. It’s also very rewarding to discover biomarkers that show how a drug is working in a patient, or that can track patient responses in a non-invasive way, such as a blood draw rather than a biopsy. When a therapy makes a measurable difference in a patient’s disease, it’s an incredible feeling.
What advice would you give to students or alumni interested in a similar path?
Take your time to figure out what you love. I worked between degrees, and that time was invaluable. I didn’t plan on earning a Ph.D. after undergrad; it happened because I stayed open, tried new things, and followed my curiosity. At 18, you don’t have to know your entire path. Explore, ask questions, and be patient with the process.
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