Hello!

I'm Molly- microbiologist and artist extraordinaire. I have a love for all things science and art that has driven my life's work from the very beginning. Born and raised in Washington DC, I moved to California once I turned 18 in a fit of teenage rebellion. After a few years of working as a veterinary technician and goofing off in Northern California, I decided that it was time to buckle down and get serious about my future. I loved my work as a tech and have always been fascinated by biology, so I did the obvious upon starting school- I became an art major at Humboldt State University (plot twist!). I was fortunate enough to avoid the starving artist trope, and landed a job as a jeweler after a few years of classes and certification courses. It wasn't until my final year as an art major, however, that I began to realize that something was missing. Despite my success as an artist, I craved that je ne sais quoi that completed my identity. For my final year of classes, I was required to take a biology GE credit for the degree requirements. It was then that I realized what I was missing- pure, unadulterated science! It wasn't long before I was ready to bid my art career and Humboldt county farewell in pursuit of a new passion I had discovered- microbiology. After transferring to Chico State University, I quickly developed a love for research, and was adopted into several labs during my (second) undergraduate career. I was able to explore subjects in environmental microbiology in working on an iron-oxidizing bacteria project focused on bioremediation, and also got to investigate matters of clinical microbiology with a biofilm selective ablation project. Since graduating, I have continued to expand my microbiological horizons to include areas of public health and virology. Indeed, I now find myself once again back in school in pursuit of my Master's at Chico State University with a project in avian influenza. Check out the "My Work" tab for more info on my current projects!