Aficionado of genome organization and function who also enjoys building programs that connect science with society. My work spans computational genomics, science communication, public engagement, and science policy, with a focus on making scientific discovery more accessible, trustworthy, and impactful. Across research, nonprofit leadership, and media, I am interested in how scientists can create knowledge while also strengthening the communities they serve.

Education

PhD, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology
UNC Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, NC
  • Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good
BA, Cellular & Molecular Biology
Occidental College · Los Angeles, CA
  • Minor in Public Health

Research & Professional Experience

Graduate Research Assistant
Phanstiel Lab | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) School of Medicine · Chapel Hill, NC
  • Developing and applying software in R, performing microscropy (DNA FISH) and -omics techniques (Hi-C, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN/ChIP-seq) to investigate the role of 3D chromatin structure in response to environmental stress
  • Oral Defense is publicly available here
Co-Founder
Science For Good
  • Launched Science For Good, a nonprofit organization that empowers researchers to engage with communities, policymakers, and the public through creative science communication, advocacy, and outreach
Science Policy Intern
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director · Bethesda, MD
  • Assist in developing a public vision and framework for including patient and community voices in the design and conduct of NIH-funded clinical research. Help plan public consultations to develop recommendations regarding engagement methods for research employing novel technologies and will be prototyping equitable and inclusive approaches for patient and community engagement. Work can be found here.

Featured Talks & Publications

Plenary Session: Scientist Network for Advancing Policy (SNAP): Building a New Generation of Scientists Who Lead in Policy and Civic Engagement
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting Science at Scale · Phoenix, AZ
Stress-induced loss of CTCF reveals an alternative, promoter-based mode of cohesin looping
bioRxiv & Under Review at Cell Reports
  • J.P. Flores, Andrea A. Perreault, Zack Drum, Chenxi Xu, Doris Cruz Alonso, Gelila Petros, Yijia Wu, Ivana Y. Quiroga-Barber, HyunAh Kim, Isha Sahasrabudhe, Justin Demmerle, Gang Greg Wang, Danfeng Cai, Douglas H. Phanstiel
Hyperosmotic stress induces complete rewiring of chromatin interactions
UCLA Emerging Genomics Scientists Symposium · Los Angeles, CA
A BioConductor/R Workflow to Identify and Visualize Differential Chromatin Loops
F1000Research
  • JP Flores, Eric Davis, Nicole Kramer, Michael Love, Douglas H. Phanstiel

Awards & Accolades