I'm a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley, working under Ph.D. Britt Koskella in the integrative biology department. My research broadly encompasses microbiology, community ecology, and conservation biology. I'm specifically looking at microbial communities in the plant phyllosphere, how they assemble, how they affect plant fitness, and how we can harness these microbes for application in sustainable agriculture and conservation of endangered plants. My dissertation is centered around the dispersal mechanisms of microbes and how this affects downstream processes such as microbiome productivity and essential plant functions. As a Kanaka ʻŌwi, I am also interested in increasing accessibility to education and research for other Hawaiians.
Previously I received my B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Puget Sound and my M.S. in Botany at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. |