About

First things first, I am a Brooklyn native. Now that I’ve got the obligatory “I’m from Brooklyn” statement out of the way, the following are a few more things about me:

I am a first-generation American, born to Caribbean immigrants. My family will most likely describe the younger Chrys as a very curious and inquisitive little girl. I posed a lot of questions to my family, which were often met with “look it up.” I was often quizzed later on, as assurance that I actually looked up the answer to my questions. I didn’t choose science and research, they chose me. :-)

Another interesting fact about me is that I come from a family of writers. As a way to express myself and manage my mental health, I spent most of middle and high school writing stories, poems, prose, etc.

I received a Bachelors in Biochemistry with a minor in Mathematics. Upon completion of my degree, I participated in a one year NIH-funded post-baccalaureate program, in prep for graduate school. I completed my PhD in Cancer and Cell Biology in April 2021.

My dissertation research involved studying a very large protein that plays a major role in regulating DNA damage repair and response in cells, including cells in the liver. I wanted to understand how my protein of interest protected the liver from chronic liver diseases, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most popular form of liver cancer. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher doing research in Cancer-related Population Sciences, specifically on topics related to breast and liver cancer disparities. Moving into the field of public health research has been one of the best decisions I have made.

I will use this platform to bring harmony to both my creative writing and scientific writing voices. The tone of a scientific journal article will surely be different from that of a blog piece. However, I want this platform to be a playground for which both voices can roam freely.

I plan to share both personal and scientific- or health-related pieces. What are the challenges of graduate school? How I navigate the world of academia as a black woman? How do I navigate academia as a chronically ill individual? What is endometriosis? How I managed my endometriosis and all of the flares with my labwork? How I managed clinical depression and anxiety diagnoses while in a STEM graduate program? Where can one find mental health or overall health resources? I plan to share all of that and more on this platform. I hope you’ll stick with me.