Title Postdoctoral Researcher Company Louisiana State University Health Science Center Bio I graduated from Montana State University with a B.Sc. in microbiology. I then joined the laboratory of Dr. Konkel in 2009 at Washington State University for my graduate studies. After completion of my graduate work I joined the laboratory of Drs. Shellito and Welsh at Louisiana State University Health Science Center New Orleans as a postdoctoral researcher. During my time as a postdoctoral researcher at LSUHSC, I was fortunate to become a LA CaTS Meritorious Postdoctoral Scholar, which is funded through the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center (Louisiana IDeA-CTR). This award also allowed me to successfully obtain an NIH funded K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award. My research interests are in microbiology, host-pathogen interactions, and immunology. My research began with the study of the skin-resident bacterial flora found on mice and transitioned to the study of bacterial-host interactions of Campylobacter jejuni with a focus on the identification and characterization of C. jejuni virulence factors. Currently, my research is focused on determining the mechanisms by which alcohol-induced intestinal dysbiosis impairs pulmonary host defense against Klebsiella pneumonia.