After two years of research investigating the genetic and molecular drivers of endocrine neoplasia in the laboratory of Andrew Arnold, MD, at UConn Health, I matriculated into medical school at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine to begin my education and training towards a career as a physician-scientist. I joined the laboratory of J. Travis Hinson, MD, where I dedicated two years of research during medical school as part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) medical research fellowship program. Through applications of CRISPR/Cas9 technology and human cardiac tissue engineering, I seek to understand how gene variants observed in heart failure patients influence disease pathophysiology, treatment responses, and clinical outcomes, ultimately to improve diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics.