My training as a scientist developed my critical thinking skills and the knowledge gained provided the foundation for my understanding of our physiology and psychology. Communication & Relationships are the common underlying themes to my research studies.
B.Sc. BIOLOGY, 1987
Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
M.Sc. PLANT BIOCHEMISTRY, 1993
Plant-Microbe Defense Chemicals.
Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
Ph.D., CELL BIOLOGY, 2001
Cancer Biology & Cell Death.
Cold Spring Harbor Labs, NY, USA
SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW, 2001 – 2006
Neurobiology of Addiction.
Brown University, Providence RI, USA
Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY, USA
Image by
@rdne from PexelsPlant Defense Chemicals
Until I started on this research project, I had no idea of how aware and responsive plants are to their environment. I found it so fascinating that I did my M.S. thesis on identifying plant toxins that were activated by sunlight to defend against bacteria. Below are two links that will introduce you to the arsenal of plant defense which also benefits humankind as a source of medicines. Plants are the original pharmacy.
Image by
@nci from Unsplash Cancer Biology & Cell Death
For my Ph.D., I wanted a project that directly benefited humans, so I focused on finding a way to get cancer cells to commit suicide or apoptosis. This is important because most chemotherapy affect both healthy and cancerous cells and are responsible for the side effects that patients commonly experience. Apoptosis is a program that all cells have, and it allows damaged cells to die without triggering an inflammatory response.
Neurobiology of Addiction
While I did learn a lot about how to kill cancer cells, I realized that this could happen in the lab (in vitro) but other factors are important in the whole organism. So, I investigated different problems that I could be studied in animal models such as reproductive biology or early infant development but then settled on the neurobiology of addiction. My second post-doc project “failed” and I was unable to generate mice that were addicted to alcohol. Now I realize that it was because I gave all of them toys and played with them each day!
