Tara is a second-year medical student who has been with Dr. Goodwin’s research team since her first year at the Duke School of Medicine. Tara is passionate about the care of oncology patients from a surgical perspective, and has been working on protocols involving the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with metastatic spine cancer. As a third-year medical student, Tara will be working full time in Dr. Goodwin’s lab, with a plan to focus on quality of life outcomes in the spine tumor population as well as predictive factors of frailty and resilience in the spine surgery population.

Prior to attending Duke Med, Tara graduated from Duke University in 2015. During her time as an undergraduate, Tara studied neuroscience and competed in Division I rowing, leading Duke’s team as a senior captain. Following graduation, she did research in neuro-oncology and bone marrow transplant, in addition to receiving a Master’s degree from Duke’s Master of Biomedical Sciences program.