She was raised and went to high school in Anaheim, CA, and earned a B.S. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. After getting her undergraduate degree, she earned her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology at Stanford University and then did postdoctoral work at UCLA on the mechanisms of Notch signaling in mammals. Her current research is focused on how animal cells communicate with their environment, including both neighboring cells and the fibrous extracellular matrix. Specifically, she is studying the role of the multi-functional extracellular matrix protein MAGP-2. This protein can activate integrin and Notch receptor signaling, promote blood vessel formation, and has been associated with some subtypes of ovarian cancer. Investigations of MAGP-2 function may lead to greater understanding of fibrotic disease, cancer, and normal matrix activity.