She obtained her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from University of Washington, followed by positions at Immunex Corporation in pharmaceutical drug development and with Francis Collins at University of Michigan in human genetics. She obtained her PhD in Human Genetics in 1999 from University of Utah under James Metherall with a research focus on defects in lipid metabolism. Her research for the past 10 years is focused on the genetic etiology of colorectal cancer. Current projects involve indentifying new genes that are important in cancer development, developing diagnostics to identify individuals at risk of developing colon cancer, and clinical trials to prevent cancer