Dawn majored in biochemistry at the University of Florida where she went on to complete her medical school education.

After her internship at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver, CO, Dawn completed ophthalmology residency at Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. She trained in vitreoretinal surgery at Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary (MEEI), remaining in Boston as an attending at Harvard Vanguard/Atrius health and clinical instructor at MEEI. She previously held a full-time academic position at the University of Washington where she was active in clinical trials and the training of residents and fellows.

At Tech, Dawn conducted scientific research, participating in the Intel Science Talent Search and Siemens-Westinghouse Research competitions.