I study the chemical composition of Psilocybe mushrooms at Vanderbilt University where I work as an Assistant Research Professor. I began at Vanderbilt in September of 2016 as a postdoctoral scholar in the Cliffel lab. During that time, my research was focused on the development of electrochemical detection methods for applications in toxicology. I received my Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program in 2015 where I taught biophysical chemistry and investigated biological adaptations to underwater adhesion in Professor Herb Waite’s lab. My undergraduate studies were at UC Irvine, where I taught organic chemistry tutorials and researched innate immunity in Prof Tenner’s lab. Ultimately, I view science as a frontier between what is known and what is unknown, not what is true and untrue. That view keeps me humble and it keeps me curious. To me, science is like a child reaching for what the mystical traditions have already touched. However, the standard that science holds – requiring that we measure phenomena before they can enter its’ halls – is a game I enjoy playing.