HISTORY

I grew up in a small town and had my fathers grade school teachers. Along the way I found to always learn something from my observable surroundings. Somethings on the topic of construction, somethings on classical and computer aided drafting, somethings on the hardships of addiction, somethings on hardships of depression, and all of the things on science and art. As I grew older I wanted to know the meaning of what is a chemical imbalance, because it seemed that is why my life had incurred so much detriment.

Taking the skills I learned along with my innate artistic ability, I developed my own therapeutic way of conceptualizing art. I was given a few opportunities to utilize these skills to which I found much success that has carried me far. At times in my life, I was shrouded on some of the hardest pain I have every felt, relieving the pain with what doctors told me would help “pain management”, this is where I lost myself. However, I found ight deep within me that required no drugs. This was my art and my passion that drives me. As I fought out of the abyss, I was rendering 3D images of synthetic micelle for targeted therapeutic delivery in cancer research. I had something else to focus on besides the pain.

This allowed researchers to conceptually visualize certain expressed ligands.  More broadly, GFP markers that were easily attached to the over expression of the ligands. In addition, due to cancer having a greater affinity to folate, assimilation of the micelle would occur acting as a vehicle for therapeutic transport and florescent imaging.

From these images rendered, I started to learn more of the language in the analytic data comparisons. This inspired my curiosity even further! However, a year into my new journey physical set backs stopped me in my tracks. I found that I had degenerative disk disease and the new subject at the forefront to study and overcome. As I went through paralysis, more pain management, and countless physical therapy sessions, I continued to always move forward to better understand what was happening to me. I found what is needed to manage and I still do to this day. It was through family, friends, science, academia, imaging, and art that I found and continue to find resilience, everyday. 

My next opportunity was awarded as a conceptual piece in a collaborative Capstone project with the help of Dr. Sivanthian’s micro Physics team (UIC). I worked in a micro-physics laboratory of Dr. Sivanthian that conceptualized a portable micro-urinary analysis assay for stage III clinical testing. The purpose was to test new drugs in remote locations. This technology is wireless concept that sends data to doctors for collection and analysis.

However, once again a demonstrative paralyzing event occurred, this time for 3 months. I managed to keep in touch with my mentor Dr. Malchow through my surgeries. I read research papers in my time and decided to create an independent research piece of artwork depicting PH flux in extracellular space showing a new ATP break through finding behind his research. With time and therapy, I recovered with no feeling and partial paralysis in my left foot (deafferentation). In this time of pain and fortitude the development of my skills and talents were now on overdrive. As my body wanted to delve further into pain, I turned to my imagination to escape, trying to overcome the pain and what came with it. Then the most amazing thing happened, as I stood back an looked at my work, I also looked back and noticed I stopped using the “pain management” prescriptions. This was one of the hardest personal obstacles I have overcome. This is where another transcendence happened, where my overall mental and physical pain management turned to cannabis. A whole new light was blanketing everything in life. This left me with a renewed focus and calm of my goal of becoming a researcher while specializing in new techniques in biomedical visualization.

Many opportunities came into my life after this and it seemed so fast and all at once. While trying to walk slow through through these opportunities, I worked closely with a colleagues and a close friend in Dr. Doug Feinstein's research on neuro-inflammation pathways that correlated to Alzheimer's disease. In the Feinstein lab, again I collaborated a proof of concept in CLARITY techniques within UIC labs. I then was offered to be paid to teach a special event art class. Simultaneously, I wrote to Stanford University with help from Dr. Doug Feinstein and Dr. Malchow to apply for an internship to practice this new CLARITY technique. This powerful technique allows us to create transparent analogs of tissues. These transparent analogs are then used in enhanced imaging and 3D reconstruction with light sheet microscopy. I completed the paid art class and used those profits to pay for all of my Stanford internship costs. In addition to the collaborations I was participating in, a guest lecturing opportunity at the Art Institute in Chicago was offered to me. To top it all off, I was asked to join a neuroscience committee to create an animation showing diffusion of an acute anti-inflammatory research drug for TBI patients. We placed second overall in a nationwide come to market competition.

After completing these projects at UIC, I was recognized by my mentors and colleges to then becoming welcomed into the Heidi Hamm lab at Vanderbilt University. After my visit initial visit, I wrote an operational expenditure scope of work to save the lab operational expenses by $250k annually. I was offered a position to platform the CLARITY protocol in the Hamm lab. I started traveling back an forth from Chicago to Nashville and back for some time to platform the CLARITY protocol to map granular cell correlated with GPCR mechanisms. Once the platform infrastructure was in place and funding was available I left Chicago to pursue my dreams in Nashville. I successfully acquired global vascular images that was under the hypothesis of correlation in morphological changes about the degradation of granule cells in cerebellum. This successfully proven technology and lab scale proof of concept platform has lead to the savings in taking out multiple costly operational pieces of equipment and replacing it with one.

During my time in the Hamm lab, I got another opportunity in a lab on the west coast. But this particular lab was licensed in cannabis extraction production. I finished my project acquiring images at Vanderbilt and moved out West.

I was introduced to processing hemp and succeeded in a very short time. I was promoted to lab manager as a result of my extensive lab background. As an accomplished pre/post processor to a cannabis lab manager to where I currently reside in the cannabis space, I have been extremely challenged. In particular, with my academic research background, along with my visualization techniques, managing skills, post processing techniques, I aim to help individuals with proper cannabinoid and terpene profiling using chromatography techniques. In addition, I am streamlining specific pre/post processing workflow to help identify pick bottlenecks to attain daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly goals. In addition, my scientific knowledge along with relationships within the cannabis industry I aim to guide the public on relevant techniques and good information. 

With opportunities with Emerald Scientific, THAR Process, and current opportunity with Curaleaf. I have developed close trusting and integrity driven business relationships.  In my development in this industry I have been awarded, MVPs, best in class, and cross functional promotions. Cherishing every new relationship as a gift, I am gaining more momentum with small wins with clients leading to bigger wins for the cannabis industry as a whole. While my past hands-on work experience provided me a well-rounded skill set in Manufacturing Engineering, it is now my pre/IN/post processing streamlining of large scale plant derived oil production and purification that now give me the most in my day to day. My intention is to continue to set milestones a continued success in business and all relationships. I hope to continue to use this successful momentum to provide tangible expressions of information through my art to educate the masses on how new age plant nutraceuticals ( or pharmaceuticals ) can change lives.

In my next journey, I plan to visually profile more lab spaces in adherence to cGMP and EHS. Creating while communicating these spaces and practices can lead to a more matured industry. This can lead to more discoveries of cannabinoids with the idea of entourage effects. Discovering more of what new and old cannabinoid molecules can do physiologically. We then can have a chance to discover more on the entourage effects of terpenes to create a stage for human pain management, mood, or longevity in clinical tests. I also aim to create a more relatable understanding of experience across strains for different types of customer experiences. In doing so, I hope to utilize my background knowledge and experience in molecular pharmacology, neuroscience, biology, chemistry, and physics to expand greater insights into how cannabis and it's continuance can be utilized as a natural medicine.

Press

"WHY MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF FAMILIES CHOOSE TO LIVE TOGETHER AND WHY IT’S NOT SUCH A BAD IDEA." — News Week.  CAROLINA BUIA.