​​    Sarah grew up in Austin, Texas and received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Genetics from Texas A&M University, minoring in Art. During her time in her undergraduate college, she worked as a research assistant at the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, where she wrote her undergraduate thesis on the impact of pre-ischemic stroke on miRNA expression.

     Sarah completed her Master of Science in Biomedical Visualization at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). She completed her thesis: "Comparing Whiteboard and 3D Animation in Visualization of 'Neuron-like' Bacterial Communication in Biofilms." In her free time, she likes to build terrariums, collect moss, and play video games.

    Now, Sarah is a PhD candidate at UIC in the research group headed by Dr. Araghi-Khalili. Her research in computational biophysics uses molecular dynamics simulations to study claudins, proteins which oligomerize into tight junctions between epithelial cells and form paracellular ion-selective channels. Sarah also teaches BVIS 560 (Molecular Pharmacology for Biomedical Visualization) at UIC and spent 3 years at Nemours Children's Hospital as an animator, illustrator, and interactive designer.