From research to clinical development and production, Mycoplasma are well-recognized and widespread contaminants in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Their successful proliferation despite the ultrafiltration performed to eliminate them has been, in hypotheses tested via lab experimentation, attributed in part to the flexibility of the cell walls of Mycoplasma.

A. laidlawii belongs to the bacterial genera Acholeplasma, which is related to the genera Mycoplasma. A main distinguishing feature hinges on their cholesterol requirements. Other differences between Acholeplasma  and Mycoplasma have been acknowledged, some of them practical, including the greater ease of culturing and handling Acholeplasma bacteria compared to Mycoplasma bacteria and the lower biosafety requirements for facilities. Experiments conducted with A. laidlawii demonstrate that it, like Mycoplasma, is able to penetrate very narrow membrane pores.

How does this bacterium manage to squeeze through pores that are, in some cases, one-third of its size? Can we quantify a threshold transmembrane pressure for retention versus passage? Given sufficient transmembrane pressure, what forces is it subject to within the pore during transposition from the feed side to the permeate side? Using a combination of analytical modeling based on elasticity relations and fluids equations and numerical simulations based on the method of regularized Stokeslets, we aim to answer these questions.

Related Publications & Presentations

Sep 2025: I presented on this project at the Women in Mathematics in New England Conference (WiMiN 25) in Northampton, MA, during the Applied Mathematics session. [link]

Membrane filtration is widely used in wastewater treatment to remove foulants from contaminated water. Foulant build-up on the membrane occludes the area open for fluid flow, which impairs the efficiency of the filtration operation by decreasing the flux through the membrane. This necessitates the introduction of interventions to regenerate the membrane after fouling; our focus is on backwashing as a strategy to restore the membrane.

We are developing a Monte Carlo code based on physical parameters to simulate constant-pressure forward filtration and backwashing through dead-end, flat-sheet membranes, with membrane fouling dominated by intermediate blocking. We validate our model against real-world experiments. Ultimately, we aim to use the model to further investigate the impact of varying backwashing duration, frequency, and/or pressure on the rate of flux recovery.

Related Publications & Presentations

Nov 2025: Our paper, “Monte Carlo Simulations of 2D Flat-Sheet Membrane Filters for Constant-Pressure Water Purification,” was published in Physical Review E. doi:10.1103/hqm4-qt38

Aug 2025: We posted our pre-print, “Monte Carlo Simulations of 2D Flat-Sheet Membrane Filters for Constant-Pressure Water Purification,” on arXiv. [link]

Jul 2025: I presented on this project at the Third Joint SIAM/CAIMS Annual Meeting (AN25) in Montréal, Quebec, during the AWM Poster Session. [link, poster]

Mar 2025: I presented on this project at the 2025 Day of Scholarship & Excellence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. My presentation included a three-minute lightning talk and a poster. [link]

As part of a multi-year project headed by Dr. Marc LiVecche (Institute on Religion and Democracy) and Dr. Eric Patterson (Regent University), I was tasked with reading through the complete compendium of C.S. Lewis’s writings (sermons, fiction, letters, academic scholarship, etc.) to identify work that related, directly or indirectly, to war. I maintained a comprehensive database of all of Lewis’s publications, including separate detailed documents for his Narnia and Space Trilogy series.

Related Publications & Presentations

Nov 2021: The op-ed “C.S. Lewis and Veterans Day: Honoring the Protectors,” co-authored with Dr. Eric Patterson, was published in Providence Mag. [link]

Drawing from documents made available through The American Presidency Project of University of California, Santa Barbara, this research is expected to culminate in a volume that will demonstrate the active just war language in speeches from Washington to the United States’ modern-day presidents.

Supervised by Dr. Eric Patterson, scholar-at-large in the Robertson School of Government, I was responsible for the development and execution of a Python web scraping tool to gather relevant material from the hundreds of presidential addresses for all of the American presidents who have completed their terms, as well as the compiling of a massive database of quotes for use by the leading researchers.

National Council For Adoption (NCFA) periodically publishes a comprehensive report of U.S. adoption statistics. Data on the number of private domestic adoptions, intercountry adoptions, and adoptions from foster care are compiled in aggregate as well as at the state level, thus providing an estimate of the total number of adoptions in the United States.

I worked with Drs. Eun Koh and Laura Daughtery of the Center for the Advancement of Children, Youth, and Families (Catholic University) and Ryan Hanlon of NCFA to collect and analyze data for the 2019/2020 Adoption by the Numbers; and with Nicole Davi and Ryan Hanlon of NCFA to collect and analyze data for the 2021/2022 Adoption by the Numbers.

Related Publications & Presentations

Mar 2025: The 2021/2022 report was released; it can be accessed here.

Dec 2022: The 2019/2020 report was released; it can be accessed here.

I conducted systematic reviews, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, that investigated the available literature on foster care permanency outcomes and U.S. policy impacts. I also completed literature reviews to support the research of collaborators.

Related Publications & Presentations

Jun 2024: “Examining the impact of participation in a foster parent support program on child welfare outcomes in Georgia” was published in Journal of Public Child Welfare. [link]

Jan 2024: “Outcomes of youth with foster care experiences based on permanency outcome–Adoption, aging out, long-term foster care, and reunification: A systematic review” was published in Children & Youth Services Review. [link]

Nov 2023: “A Systematic Review on the Impact of ASFA on the Outcomes of Children and Birth Families Involved in the Foster Care System” was published in Adoption Quarterly. [link]

Similar to the C.S. Lewis project, I, working under Dr. Eric Patterson, was tasked with reading through the complete compendium of G.K. Chesterton’s writings (fiction, newspaper columns, essays) to identify work that related, directly or indirectly, to war, peace, and international relations. In my role, I created a comprehensive database of Chesterton’s publications and kept detailed notes on relevant passages.

Related Publications & Presentations

Preliminary analyses of Chesterton’s discussions on war, peace, etc. through his work resulted in co-authored essays in Providence Mag, a publication of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. [1, 2, 3]

This mixed-methods study analyzed adoptees’ experiences and perceptions of adoption stigma, drawing on survey responses from 523 adoptees and three focus groups with 23 adoptees. The project was a collaboration with Nicole Davi and Ryan Hanlon from the National Council For Adoption and Dr. Sarah Font from Washington University in Saint Louis.

While 42% of survey respondents reported no stigma, 35% experienced stigma from three or more sources, often classmates and the general community. Focus groups highlighted four key domains of adoption stigma: belief and focus, method, source, and impact. Participants also described other harmful beliefs and experiences, while not categorically within the scope of adoption stigma, that provided important reflections on experiences that negatively impact adoptees. These findings deepen understanding of adoption stigma and support more informed public discourse.

This research was completed with Nicole Davi (NCFA), Sarah Font (Washington University in Saint Louis), and Ryan Hanlon (NCFA).

Related Publications & Presentations
Dec 2025: Our paper, “Adoptee Experiences of Adoption Stigma,” was published in Adoption Quarterly. [link]