Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy is the leading cause of inherited optic neuropathy affecting between 1 in 10-30,000 individuals. Disease effects begin in late childhood often resulting in near complete vision loss by adolescence. One of the primary contributors to this disease are mutations in an enzyme known as Opa1. The enzyme is present in the mitochondria of cells and normally assists in energy production and triggering programmed cell death; however its primary role is to ensure specific mitochondrial membranes interact. Because this enzyme plays so many vital functions, it is no wonder that there are over 500 known disease-causing mutations – the more roles an enzyme plays, the more opportunity that errors in the sequence will affect something important. My research projects involve creating versions of Opa1 which contain some of these mutations and using biochemical techniques to evaluate how the mutations cause the enzyme to stop working in the way that it should. By doing so, we hope to learn more about the progression of the disease and the specific impact each mutation has on the enzyme and an organism.

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Structural Cell Biology, National Institutes of Health
• PhD, Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
• BA, Biochemistry, DePauw University

Structure and Function of Biomolecules, Advanced Biochemistry, Stoichiometry, Structure and Properties of Organic Molecules

• ASBMB Early Career Travel Award – 2025
• Asher Fund in the Sciences – 2024, Advancing Biochemical Research Capabilities through the Acquisition of a UV-Visible Spectrophotometer (Sharon Crary, Dan Gurnon, Andy Kehr)
• ACS Student Travel Award – 2024
• Iowa Space Grant Consortium, NASA – 2024, Student Hands-On: Enhancing STEM Skills Through Precise DNA Fluorimetry
• Hamilton Lab Product Grant Program – 2022
• Dr. Scholl Foundation Award – 2021