A physiologically based kinetic (PBK) model for predicting PFOA accumulation in humans, parameterized fully with in vitro data to support next generation risk assessment. Presented at the Dutch Society of Toxicology (NVT) annual meeting. My focus was the implementation of a scalable life stage equation for the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of the kidney. Modeling individual renal decline associated with aging added realism to the lifetime simulations. I also focused on integrating renal and hepatic transporter kinetics. The model was validated with multiple sets of human biomonitoring data, and the results suggest that current methods may underpredict the true half-life and bioaccumulation of PFOA in humans.
Awarded Best Master's Poster!
Date: June 2025
Results on transport kinetics of GLUT2 chimeras presented at the Dutch Society of Toxicology (NVT) annual meeting. My focus was designing and expressing chimeric glucose transporters in HEK cells to understand which domains are responsible for the notable differences in xylitol uptake between species. The results suggest differential expression and activity for each chimeric transporter. This research is ongoing.
Date: June 2024
Results on SOD1 loop deletions presented at the UTD School of Natural Sciences annual conference. My focus was creating Zn-loop and electrostatic-loop deletion constructs to examine how each loop influences metal binding, cysteine accessibility, disulfide formation, and enzymatic activity. The results suggest that both loops must cooperate to properly activate SOD1 and provided insight into ALS associated mutations.
Date: May 2023
