Areas of specialty:
- Insect biochemistry and molecular biology
- Insect cuticle synthesis and sclerotization
- Insect multicopper oxidases
I'm interested in exploring how insects make their cuticle (exoskeleton). My main focus is on the proteins present in the cuticle and how they differ between cuticle that is hard versus cuticle that is flexible. I am also interested on how these cuticular proteins may be cross-linked together to help stabilize the cuticle (a process known as sclerotization).
