During July-December 2020, I collaborated with my research advisor, Dr. Javin Oza, and undergraduate colleague, Logan Burrington, at Cal Poly SLO to write a book chapter entitled "Development of next-generation diagnostic tools using synthetic biology" for an upcoming book called "New Frontiers and Applications of Synthetic Biology" edited by Dr. Vijai Singh. This book will contain a multitude of relevant chapters written by scientists around the world, and I am excited to have my first publication in this project. As the first author of the chapter, I took on a leadership position, which allowed me to grow in communication, time-management, and delegation skills.

Before endeavoring to write this chapter, I had limited experience in writing scientific reviews and certainly not written a paper with hundreds of citations, so I experienced growing pains and self-doubt throughout the project. However, thanks to my collaborators and my growing confidence, the process of writing was engaging and positive. I learned how to effectively understand, analyze and abstract meaning from scientific research in short durations. Additionally, my ability to provide constructive criticism and accept feedback greatly improved through the many edits and team discussions that helped to improve our work. As the project progressed, I found that one of the most challenging parts of writing is delineating categories and subsections to group developments. My team and I went through many iterations of organization, which accelerated my development of critical and abstract thinking skills. After this chapter, I am very excited to take on any future writing opportunities as they emerge.