I had the opportunity to work in a Data Scientist role that was field deployed to as an education asset, while also being able to work on difficult data science problems. My primary focus was working with the dairy industry, analyzing milk production data and conducting treatment/control trials for customers with the Galaxis Frontier product. The best part of the role was being able to bring cutting edge microbiome research, big data ideas, and modern data science methods to dairy producers. Dairy production is fascinating in that most dairies know exactly how much milk each cow produces each day. This creates huge longitudinal data sets, with new and interesting problems. I love teaching being able to be in the field and share everything I had learned throughout my career with dairy producers was a real highlight. The world is moving into a much faster paced, highly technological and data driven atmosphere, and it is imperative that no one gets left behind.

I worked with Dr. Qiyun Zhu (https://qiyunlab.github.io/) on developing new data science and bioinformatics methods for microbiome science. My work ranged from pipeline development using cutting-edge methodologies for metagenomic (and other 'omics) studies of human and environmental microbiomes, to phylogenetic analysis and reconstruction of the bacterial phylum Cyanobacteria. I also worked on developing and adapting data science methodologies to biological problems.

The title of my dissertation was Photosynthetic Agents of Carbonate Bioerosion in Endolithic Microbiomes, which encompassed a wide range of both traditional microbiological and ecological techniques and in-depth phylogenetic and bioinformatics analyses. While working in the Garcia-Pichel lab, my researched focused on endolithic phototrophs, environmental microbiomes, and applications of bioinformatics to microbiome data, including the Cydrasil reference package and web application. In addition to my dissertation work, I was part of many interdisciplinary collaborations including research on biological soil crusts, desert soils, the rhizosphere of crops, and freshwater lakes.

My worked involved examining the glycerol metabolism of Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans for industrial applications. I worked on producing 1,3-propanediol from crude glycerol under industrial conditions.Also, I was a graduate teaching assistant for Dr. David Westenberg and Adam Martin. Microbiology Lab Molecular Genetics Lab

Undergraduate research assistant to Dr. David Westenberg (01/2011 - 05/2011) - Examination of a modified homoserine lactone system in Bradyrhizobium japonicum- Construction of a novel HSL detection strain of E. coli using synthetic biology principles

I worked with Dr. David Westenberg and Dr. Katie Shannon on two projects.- Ethanol biosensor- Subcloning and expression of Geobacter membrane cytochromes in E. coli