I am currently interested in the history of Portuguese and Spanish colonialism and the appropriation of botanical and medicinal knowledge. I am also interested in the study of drugs as a whole and the cultural and legal frameworks that are applied to them throughout the world.

My current projects seeks to uncover why certain plants and medical materials are circulated more broadly in European medicinal knowledge for reasons beyond purely medicinal use. In doing so, I expect to discuss how religious, socio-cultural, and economic factors influence human/plant histories.

Fall 2024 – HIST 17A American Peoples w/ Professor Katie Moore

Spring 2024 – HIST 22 Technology and the Modern World w/ Professor Patrick McCray

Winter 2024 – HIST 20 Science and the Modern World w/ Professor Patrick McCray

Fall 2023 – HIST 17A American Peoples w/ Professor Katie Moore

Conference Presentation, “‘O Cordeal Bezoartico’: Simple and Composite Bezoar Stones in Early Modern Iberian Medicine” July 9, 2024, Lisbon, ASPHS.

Esmé Frost Fellowship Recipient (2024)

Richard K. Mayberry Award Recipient (2024)

Excellence in the Portuguese Language Award (2024)

Departmental Research Grant 2024

Departmental Conference Travel Grant 2024

UC Santa Barbara Regents Fellowship Recipient 2022-23

2021-22 Dean’s Undergraduate Research Award: “The Blood of the Nopal: A Case of Indigenous Cochineal Cultivation from 1521-1796”

Honors Recipient: UC Santa Cruz 2022