Mariah grew up in Geneva, Illinois. In 2015, she graduated with a B.A. in Biology from Boston University. Her undergraduate research focused on coral reef conservation and climate change resilience. She studied genetically distinct subpopulations of endangered Acropora cervicornis coral and utilized aerial image analysis to measure how coral reef geomorphology change affects shoreline erosion. After college, she worked in operations for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Tucson, Arizona. She came to the Lukens Lab interested in learning about medical research, data science, and improving her skills in data analytics. Outside of the lab she enjoys running a sustainable farm with her partner, a herd of heritage breed dairy cows, a flock of pastured chickens, and two wonderful livestock guardian dogs.