I am a Research Scientist with the 'Omics program at the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Lab in Miami, FL, and part of the Northern Gulf Institute through MS State University. My work involves bioinformatics, data analysis/visualization, and best practices development for a broad range of research projects in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, with a particular focus on eDNA applications.
Prior to this role, I worked on conservation and fisheries management applications with the Population Genetics Research Group at the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources, and genetic tool development for freshwater fishes at Auburn University. My Ph.D. research focused on population and functional genomics of Olympia oysters; an area I still dabble in.
Improving open data access, reproducibility, and transparency in science is important to me, so I strive to publish primarily in open-access journals, host reproducible coding notebooks for published and ongoing work at my GitHub, and provide links to recent presentations and successful grant proposals on my CV. I'm also a co-founder of the MarineOmics working group (part of the RCN for Evolution in Changing Seas), which is working to disseminate robust genomic research practices and evaluate reproducibility in marine science.
I consider myself fortunate to have benefited from an early exposure to science, enthusiastic support systems, and strong female academic mentors. Many people are not afforded these advantages, so I strive to improve accessibility to science and science careers while promoting environmental stewardship. Some organizations I've worked with include Project Exploration's Sisters4Science, KICP's Life Long Learning program, and the University of Miami's Ocean Kids program.
When not playing with oyster (and now bass!) genes, I enjoy spending time with my family, running, yoga, reading sci-fi/fantasy, ceramics, and identifying species with my husband.
In May 2019 I had a stroke in my left parietal lobe, which temporarily affected movement and sensation on the right side of my body. My husband and I wrote an in-depth account about the experience and my recovery, where we also discuss some of the science behind what causes strokes, symptoms, and how the brain recovers (plus some cool GIFs of my brain!).
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