Working as a tissue recovery technician, I recover human tissues such as skin, saphenous veins, femoral vessels, heart for valves, femur, tibia, fibula, ilium, hemi pelvis, humerus, radius, ulna, and various associated tendons for transplantation and research. Recoveries are performed using aseptic techniques, follow standard operating procedures for the operating room, and often involve working with other organ transplant teams and eye banks. In addition to being a tissue recovery technician I am also a team leader. As a team leader I must carefully review every donor’s medical/social history and hospital chart to ensure the donor’s suitability and relay any problems or concerns to my administrator on call and/or donor center.

I instructed an undergraduate anatomy and physiology lab for three semesters. I taught three weekly labs on course material that covered both anatomy and histology, held office hours each week to answer student’s questions on the material, and prepared and proctored unit exams and finals. I also taught a single semester of an introductory biology lab for non-majors where I instructed three weekly labs, prepared laboratory experiments and quizzes for each week, and graded weekly lab reports.

I participated in research on mycobacteria in Chesapeake Bay striped bass. Using spleen samples from the fish, I performed various laboratory procedures including: DNA digestion, extraction and sequencing, standard PCR and qPCR, gel electrophoresis, and bacterial culturing. All procedures were performed using aseptic and sterile techniques. While working on this research, I meticulously maintained a laboratory manual detailing all procedures and associated results. I maintained all laboratory equipment that was used to ensure that it remained in proper working order.