My research interests lie in using light to identify bacterial infections and other disease causing pathogens and assess their drug susceptibility at the single-cell level, specifically using an optical characterization technique known as Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy relies on Raman scattering, the inelastic scattering of photons from vibrational modes, and it can provide a unique cellular fingerprint to aid in cellular identification. Though very powerful, Raman scattering is typically an inefficient process and requires signal enhancement. My current work aims to utilize resonant nanophotonic substrates such as plasmonic nanoparticles and dielectric metasurfaces to enhance this scattering. In the future, I hope to translate this work into a point-of-care device that can be used in resource-constrained environments