\nI am a medicinal chemistry postdoc. I work in the lab synthesizing new small molecules for multiple drug discovery projects to be tested by our biology team. The goal is to identify novel compounds that are potent and selective for our targets of interest.<\/p>\n
How long have you been working with the WCNDD?<\/strong><\/p>\n I joined the WCNDD in mid-August this year, so I am just about to\u00a0reach\u00a04 months here!<\/p>\n What is unique about working for WCNDD?<\/strong><\/p>\n It has the environment of a biotech but is an academic lab; it’s really astounding. The success is driven by the fierce discussions and collaborations in and out of the lab. With such a diverse group of scientists, it is the people here and their experiences that have\u00a0fostered such a successful environment.<\/p>\n What is your favorite memory or project you completed during your time at WCNDD so far, and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n Being at the center for such a short time, I am not yet at\u00a0the point where\u00a0my projects have reached\u00a0successful endpoints. However, my fondest memories are of\u00a0coming together, either to celebrate milestones\u00a0at the WCNDD, with compounds moving forward in the clinic, or to celebrate people leaving the center to move on to bigger and better things. The moments celebrating those achievements\u00a0and coming together have really created a special environment.<\/p>\n What is a professional or personal achievement that you are most proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n Obtaining my PhD this year was very special;\u00a0not only was I a first-generation student, but\u00a0I am also dyslexic, and therefore, completing my multi-hundred-page thesis and writing multiple papers didn’t come naturally to me. I am grateful to\u00a0be\u00a0able to continue developing treatments for CNS-related diseases.<\/p>\n I have been skiing since I\u00a0was 3, and for the 2020\/2021 winter, I took a 4-month sabbatical to do a ski season in the French Alps. I worked as a chalet host and chef, cooking breakfast, afternoon tea, and a four-course dinner for 14 people. In my time between shifts, I would be on the mountain skiing.<\/p>\n What activities do you like to do outside of work?<\/strong><\/p>\n I like to keep busy! This year I started taking Pilates classes, and\u00a0now that I have moved to a place with a better climate, I am going to start running again. I love to cook and bake for family and friends, and my fianc\u00e9 and I really enjoy hosting people for food and board games nights.<\/p>\n What advice would you give to a student interested in pursuing a career in your field of work?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ask questions and seek opportunities! There are positions from 4 weeks-1 year to work at various companies during undergraduate and graduate school and undergraduate research programs providing opportunities to gain experience and lab skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University consists of a remarkable community dedicated to advancing the translation of basic science to novel therapeutics to treat serious brain disorders. In addition to our outstanding faculty, postdocs, and trainees who are at the forefront of our cutting-edge research, a large part of our center\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":3751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[30],"class_list":["post-3747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-group-news","tag-news"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/12\/socials-1.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pg6bwg-Yr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3752,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3747\/revisions\/3752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/lindsleylab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/12\/2-3S5A4427-200x300.jpg\")
What is a fun fact about you?<\/strong><\/p>\n