Tara joined the NIAID Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office in 2015. Previously, she worked at the NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) for nine years, starting as an NIH IRTA postdoctoral fellow and ultimately assuming the role of CDC unit chief. Prior to working at OTT, Tara investigated the structure of proteins from the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis as an NIH IRTA postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Intramural Research at NIDDK. Her Ph.D. research at the University of Minnesota focused on structure/function relationships of cardiac membrane proteins, and she received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. Tara also pursued diabetes and metabolism research at the University of Minnesota prior to commencing her Ph.D. work.