I obtained my first research position after graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2009 with a B.S in biology. A few years later, my father was diagnosed with colon cancer, inspiring me to pursue a career in cancer research. I enrolled in the biomedical sciences graduate program at Tulane University School of Medicine to study the mechanisms by which cancer cells acquire resistance to targeted therapy. However, it was only after joining the lab of Dr. Erik Flemington as a postdoctoral fellow that I realized I wanted to devote my career to studying lymphoma. Our research on the Epstein Barr Virus and Burkitt’s Lymphoma led to a fellowship from the Lymphoma Research Foundation in 2019. Having now been selected for a Lymphoma and Leukemia Society Special Fellow award, I am excited to acquire the necessary training, practical experience, and depth of knowledge to become a leading independent investigator conducting impactful translational lymphoma research.