Kelly is from nearby Interlaken, NY studying at Boston College. Kelly is working with Liza Conrad, a graduate student in the Brutnell lab, working on the Ac tagging project. Her research is focused on identifying Ac elements that have spontaneously changed to Ds elements, which are Ac’s with an internal deletion that makes them unable to move on their own. Kelly is utilizing Southern blots, DNA extractions, and PCR techniques for her research.

At Boston College, Kelly is a sailor on the varsity team.