Biography

Jasmyn grew up in the woodland outskirts of Flagstaff Arizona. They obtained their Bachelor of Science in ACS certified Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University. During their time as an undergrad, they worked with Dr. Naomi Lee in developing self-assembling peptide-based vaccines for HIV, HPV, and opioid addiction to address Native American health disparities. Their primary focus was an NIH-funded project focused on the synthesis and design of d-amphetamine haptens conjugated to virus-like-particle proteins as a vaccine platform to combat methamphetamine addiction. Jasmyn also assisted with public health and youth education through the CARE (Cultural and Academic Research Experience) program which aims to celebrate Indigenous traditions and language through kitchen-based laboratory experiments.  

Jasmyn is now a second-year Ph.D. student at Northeastern University working with Dr. Lori Ferrins and Dr. Carla Mattos in drug discovery and development for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Their project is focused on synthesizing and modifying repurposed known human kinase inhibitors to target opportunistic pathogenic free-living amoeba (pFLA) such as Acanthamoeba castellanii, followed by protein assay development to chemically validate structure-activity relationships. 

Jasmyn’s long-term career goal is to conduct medicinal bioorganic chemistry research through the discovery and development of drug, vaccine, and/or protein therapeutics to address important neglected health disparities within diversity.