Education

B.S. – Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2002)
MBA – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2008)
Ph.D. candidate – Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009)

Professional interests

I am currently completing research to generate tumor models in pigs and working with the Division of Biomedical Sciences as an intern. My previous research looked at the effects of diet and age on gene expression in dogs. Over the summer, I explored the intersection of science and business as an intern for the $1 billion life science venture capital firm, Burrill and Company in San Francisco. In addition, I have worked with professors at the University of Illinois to investigate university-industry interactions and explore innovative business models to take university technology out of the lab and into the market. I am also a senior manager with Illinois Business Consulting and have led numerous projects focused on the commercialization of technology.

Honors

• Graduate Certificate in Strategy and Technology Management, College of Engineering (2007)
• MBA Director’s Scholarship (2007)
• Kaufman Foundation Graduate Student Award (2007)
• University of Illinois Graduate College Award (2004 & 2006)
• University of Illinois Graduate College Travel Grant Award, Spring 2004
• Neal A. Jorgensen Swine Genome Grant (2004)