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I am a PhD candidate in the labs of Catherine F. Clarke and Steven G. Clarke at UCLA. My research interests include antioxidants (specifically coenzyme Q), aging, and cellular repair. As an undergraduate, I studied the mechanism of organocatalytic reactions using density functional theory methods under the mentorship of Prof. Ken Houk. In my PhD program, I continue to apply a combination of computational and experimental techniques to solve problems in biochemistry. I currently work on elucidating the molecular mechanism and structure-function relationship of COQ5, a methyltransferase involved in coenzyme Q biosynthesis, in the context of pathogenic single nucleotide variants in humans. I use a wide range of approaches, both computational and biochemical, with the yeast S. cerevisiae as a primary model organism. I also hope to develop an in vitro radioactive methyltransferase assay for yeast Coq5, in order to study the effect of point mutations.