If you are going to do something, do it right.Involved in all aspects of quality, including overlap with Quality Assurance and working with contract lab partners.

Working as a Senior Quality Control Specialist at Vedanta Biosciences, where we are designing medicines based on defined consortia of human commensal bacteria to treat disease, using insights from microbial ecology, mucosal immunology, and human interventional studies.Involved in all aspects of quality, including overlap with Quality Assurance and working with contract lab partners.

Involved with data review, report writing, actions/alerts, environmental monitoring, and much more.

I worked on the quality team in Quality Assurance and Quality Control, supporting the various research teams including bioprocessing and formulations in addition to collaborating with manufacturing and regulatory. This included performing routine microbiological assays, lab organization, as well as testing products for release, drafting certificates of analysis, along with many other activities and responsibilities, all in support of the development of microbial seed treatments.Indigo's mission statement is: "Harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet." To do this they started by developing microbial seed treatments to reduce the need for synthetic inputs and boosting crop yields by leveraging the symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes. Exploring the microbiome for plants.

Designed, led and executed experiments focused on materials testing and new materials development.

Developed and led the quality control program for scale-up work on engineered wood (particleboard).In addition to quality control, continued to conduct primary research on new materials, mycelial growth conditions, and press parameters. Responsibilities also included a focus on materials testing and test methods. In this role I established new protocols and test methods using our Instron universal testing machines and BlueHill control software.Primary research activities expanded to cover new low and medium density panel applications, in addition to ongoing work with engineered wood products. Work was diverse and collaborative, spreading across multiple disciplines from engineering to biology as well as involving skills in data analysis and report writing.

As part of a talented interdisciplinary team every day was different, with work ranging from biological research in the wet lab, to prototyping of parts on the production floor, to work in the engineering bay using hydraulic presses, to the wood shop preparing samples. This role required flexibility and an ability to frequently and rapidly learn new tasks.

Associate Editor at the Journal of Visualized Experiments. JoVE is the first and only PubMed indexed, peer-reviewed video methods journal, publishing experimental methods in video-format with the goal of increasing the reproducibility and transparency of science. Founded in 2006, JoVE covers the Life and Physical Sciences, and while working here I helped to launch our 9th section, Environment, which was launched in October 2013. My primary focus was on developing content and preparing for the launch of JoVE Environment. I worked with perspective authors, guiding them through the publication process and doing the initial handling of submissions before passing them on to our review department. Working in a rapidly growing, high-turnover early-phase business environment required an ability to be flexible and adjust to continually changing work requirements. I enjoyed getting to continue to work closely with science, which forms the foundation of my background.

Performed journal recruitment for multiple sections of our journal, including in applied physics, chemistry and environment. Also worked directly with my editor and department head, assisting with the handling of incoming submissions, performing the technical check of manuscripts and other support duties.

Worked directly with and alongside the head lab technician, helping to maintain and run a number of long and short term experiments being conducted by the lab group. A main focus of the research was examining the impacts of human activities on carbon and nitrogen accumulation rates in the environment by collecting and analyzing tree growth, soil and leaf samples from long term chrono-sequence research plots in Ithaca, the Adirondacks and the Catskills. In addition to daily lab work, sample processing and the management of local (Ithaca-area) field sites, I also led field-research trips into the Adirondacks and Catskills. This involved long days of field work collecting soil, root and leaf litter samples using either hand corers or a diamond-tipped mechanical soil corer, enabling us to take soil samples 50+ cm in depth. I also had the opportunity to interact with graduate students and post-docs, participating in weekly biogeochemistry and environmental biocomplexity seminars and regular lab meetings.

This work was done in addition to working in the lab at Cornell. As a biology and biochemistry undergraduate student, I took a course on the Biology of the Honey Bee, and became fascinated by the complex behaviors, genetics and chemical communication involved. Pursuing this interest, I helped manage and maintain 100 hives for a local beekeeper, getting to be involved in everything from managing the hives; extracting, packaging and distributing honey; creating value-added hive products such as propolis, beeswax candles and hand creams; and got to run a stand at the historical Ithaca Farmer's Market. This led me to set up 5 hives of my own, and I continue to have a strong interest in everything bee, and bee biology, related.