Timeline Resume

2021 – Present

Research Scientist Engineer II
University of Washington Nickerson Lab

The Northwest Genomic Center was established by Dr. Debbie Nickerson and harbors a team of scientists passionate about the application of genomic sequence data to pursue precision medicine.

My position in the lab as an RSE II, and now Team Lead, require me to organize several projects and workflows, brief the lab in weekly meetings about production status, and train new employees. I have also led the reorganization of our wet lab workspaces and began refining our standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Together, my team and I conduct the chemistry steps for Illumina and Roche Kapa next generation sequencing (NGS) of DNA, RNA, and exomic regions. We process every sample for the largest sequencing center in the Pacific Northwest by participating in many large-scale research projects such as:

  • NIH All of Us Research Program
  • Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed)
  • Genomics to Elucidate the Genetics of Rare Diseases
  • Brotman-Baty Institute and Seattle Flu Study

 
October 2022
Supervisory Leadership Skills Certification

Initiated a certificate through the University of Washington Professional and Organizational Development (POD) focused on leadership styles, creating a welcoming workspace, and appropriately managing employee performance

June 2022
PacBio Hifi Sequel IIe On-Site Training

Long-read Sequencing wet bench training for sample and library preparation. Guided 3-day training with PacBio scientists to adequately produce whole genome sequences up to 18-22kb in length.

May 2022
PacBio In-Person Discoveries Roadshow

A day-long event bringing together regional scientists using PacBio Sequencing Technologies and presenting their data. Peer-to-peer discussions, connecting with local and international labs about similar goals.

 
Volvox painting 1

Above: “Dizzy Volvox”
Left: “With Space to Grow”

With Space to Grow Painting

 

April 2019 – December 2020

Bacteriology Lab Technician
Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory


My position at the Veterinary Diagnostics Lab (VDL) in the Bacteriology department for 1 over 1⁄2 years gave me valuable experiences in a BSL-2 lab with large-mammal disease diagnosis, high-throughput sample processing, and industrial biotechnology. The beginning of case processing included the setup of postmortem tissue samples on selective and differential media in a biosafety cabinet. The next day diagnoses were made in two main categories based on organ type: respiratory or enteric. Suspected disease-causing agents were then replated for isolation, and grown an extra day, or confirmed using Bruker Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry.

Inconclusive results from the MALDI-TOF came from low confidence reads, or an inability to characterize proteins from the sample. To decrease this occurrence, I individually structured a no-identification project (“No-ID Project”), where I performed DNA & protein extractions on failed samples that built up. These sample isolates were then sent off for sequencing, where I would eventually receive genomic data to manually analyze and input to the Burker reference database with software installations to for future attempts at analyzing similar sample sets. The previously unidentified samples now registered on the MALDI-TOF machinery down to a sub-species level increasing the lab’s diagnostic capabilities by ~5% annually, and ultimately decreasing diagnosis timelines.

VDL Plate City

A busy day at Bacteriology: organizing case numbers and oxygenic vs anoxygenic plate types

 

December 2019

COVID-19

Global Pandemic began at the conclusion of my study abroad

 

July – December 2019

Community Health Practicum
Study Abroad in Botswana, Africa
Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) 
 

I studied Botswana’s government-provided healthcare system by visiting local clinics, hospitals, and the Ministry of Health on two week rotations. Throughout my visits and University of Botswana course topics, I began to investigate current public health battles within the country. Some of these main interrogative topics include the uptick in illegal and, thus, unsafe abortions, the links between suicide and mental health in the developing country, and the prevalence of smoking tobacco.

At the University of Botswana, I took courses on Epidemiology, Parasitology, Global Migration, and Setswana, the national language.

 

November 2019

Presentation:

Vaccination Rates and Childhood Immunizations: Assessing Government Provided Healthcare Systems correlation to Vaccine Preventable Diseases, at the University of Botswana Gaborone  

June 2019

Attended the American Society of Microbiology Microbe 2019 Conference on behalf of the Iowa State University Microbiology Club as a Department Representative

ASM Me at sign

 

  September 2018- May 2019

Science Explorations Club 

A club housed in the Program of Women in Engineering and Science (WiSE), undergraduate student role models set up bi-weekly science-based camps to introduce 2nd-5th grade girls from low-income and marginalized elementary schools to various STEM fields.

 

  September 2018- May 2019

Student Lab Assistant
Iowa State Seed Health Lab

Soy and corn seed biotechnical trait resistance testing at the world’s largest public seed testing lab. 

 

May 2019

Presentation:

Effects on Lipid Production with the Varying Chromosomal and Plasmid Presence of COA-6, at Iowa State University

Study Abroad Scholarship

Jay and Julie Jacobi Study Abroad Scholarship through the College of Agriculture and Life Science (CALS) at Iowa State University

  
High School Graduation
 

  October 2022

NSF GRFP Applicant

Life Sciences category for Computationally Engineering Ancestral Proteins of Extremophile Attributes to Search for Extant Life

  July 2022

Promoted to Team Lead of Library Construction

I am proud that my noticed dedication to accurate and efficient laboratory practices has enabled me to lead and expand that Library Prepartion Team in the Dr. Debbie Nickerson lab.

Lab pipettes

Here’s a photo of me with some of my favorite tools—  pipettes! Ready for science, genetics & using the automated liquid handling robotics behind me

 

  August 2021

Moved to Seattle, WA from the Midwest

 

  March – August 2021

Painted “With Space to Grow” 

An acrylic painting depicting all major research projects I worked on throughout my undergraduate experience alongside Jupiter and Europa for my future research goals. Starting from the bottom left corner for my freshman year including Volvox and a MRSA investigation, up through COVID-19 and cyanobacteria for graduating in 2020 and submitting grant applications. These experiences are accompanied by my aspirational research goals of studying organisms in relation to Astrobiology so we can have an educated guess in our exploration of Europa.

 
Painted “Dizzy Volvox” 

An acrylic painting showcasing my favorite microorganism, Volvox globator, a green alga that ignited my passion for microbiology. I have since created a dozen variations of the green alga on different mediums and in glowing paint to share their cheerful and critical role in our ecosystem with others.

 November 2020

Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Iowa State University with a B.S. in Microbiology and a minor in Emerging Global Diseases.   

August 2017 through November 2020, all semesters- Dean’s List Recognition at the University of Minnesota Duluth (2017) and Iowa State University (2018-2020)

Timeline Resume

 

October 2020

NSF GFRP Applicant

Life Sciences category for Reduction of greenhouse gasses by the consumption of CO2 by Cyanobacteria to produce industrially important fuel products

 

  2019 – Graduation

ISU Microbiology Club President

Nominated and elected. I spent all of 2019 serving as Vice President followed by 2020 as President of the Iowa State Departments Microbiology Club. I re-innovated several activities, and successfully transformed the club into a more engaging feature of the department. Through out my chair position, membership grew from approximately 25 to 40+ and began to involve students from a greater interdisciplinary background. Annual outreach and club activities included:

Halloween Murder Mystery
  • Invited approximately 30 local high school students to campus for a day-long workshop exploring the vast applications of microbiology and forensics to determine the culprit of a murder mystery.
Elementary School Science Night
  • Jell-O-filled Petri plates containing “bacterial colonies” made of Nerds candy to spark interest in microbial diversity with young studentsInvited approximately 30 local high school students to campus for a day-long workshop exploring the vast applications of microbiology and forensics to determine the culprit of a murder mystery.
Agar Art Competition
  • Emulating the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) Agar Art competition, this cross-departmental event merges creativity with science. I genetically modified the coral chromoprotein of Acropora millepora to achieve eight distinct colors of culturable bacteria. Painting in a petri dish welcomed students from various backgrounds to learn about genetic mutations, transformation, and phenotypes. 
Agar Art Results 3

 

September – December 2019

Rehabilitation Center Volunteer
Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Botswana, Africa

Utilizing my background in microbiology and academic interest in infectious diseases, I offered to investigate an infection among the white-backed vulture population of the Mokolodi Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. I independently initiated a research plan with testing recommendations, clinical management, and wound treatment that could subside the infection until I learned more. Evidently, the ailment resembled a bumblefoot infection. Faced with a deficit in resources and using out-of-date antibiotics, the reserve was struggling to moderate the growth, and prevent development within the other bird of prey.

 

January – May 2019

Undergraduate Research Assistant,
Director Head, Dr. J. Cunnick

Given a broad task to develop a new protocol for use in a senior-level Immunology lab course, Micro 475L, I tested various methods, troubleshot, and developed the non-biohazardous method ultimately used to teach ELISA techniques and quantify oral antibody concentrations.

 

January – May 2019

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Microbiology Lab
Biology of Microorganisms Laboratory
Dr. C. Brillhart 

Taught and mentored 24 microbiology students various lab techniques; proper microscope and pipette use, staining methods (Gram, acid-fast, endospore, etc.), colony isolation and quantification, PCR, and adaptation effects. 

 

April 2019

Merit Scholarship:

US Bank Iowa State Campus Scholarship

 

September  2019

Iowa State University Microbiology Club Officer

Joined ISU Microbiology Club as a consisent member and signed up for a chair position my first semester helping as Outreach Chair.

 

December 2017

Scholarship:

Private Clifford A Shillinhlaw Scholarship at the University of Minnesota Duluth

 

June 2017

Graduate with High Honors

Eastview High School; recognized as STEM Scholar and a qualifying member of the National Spanish Honors Society