Education and Research Projects


Sorted by year

September 2020-July 2022. Open-source Community Manager, Rokwire Initiative

Description. Manager of open-source community for a campus mobile application. Duties include creating documentation, instruction in in version-control techniques, technical demos, building open-source computational resources, supervising contributor/student intern activities, and moderating video calls/discussion channels.

January-May 2019. Open Leader (OL7), Mozilla Foundation.

Description. Participant in the Open Leaders Program (OL7), where I learned to manage virtual distributed projects in an open fashion. Project: OpenWorm/DevoWorm Curriculum

2018-2019. Early Career Ambassador, eLife Publishing.

eLife

Description. Collaborative research and efforts in promoting and Open Science, Meta-science, and Reproducibility. Initiatives: Reproducibility for Everybody and Data Reuse.

2014-present. Senior Contributor and Committee Member, OpenWorm.

owf

Description. Major contributor to an open-source organization committed to building the first virtual organism. Duties include project leader of DevoWorm (computational developmental biology of the nematode C. elegans), member of the Community committee, and leader of several educational initiatives.

2014-2016. Postdoctoral Work, Schroeder Lab, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Evolution, Developmental Biology, and Neurobiology in the nematode C. elegans.

2014-present. Lead Scientist and Independent Researcher, Orthogonal Research.

orth

An academic start-up initiative focused on academic research, statistical analysis, and computational modeling. Projects include DevoWorm and Representational Brains and Phenotypes

2009-2014. PhD and Postdoctoral work in Cell/Molecular and Quantitative Biology. Michigan State University.

Thesis title: Reprogramming to the nervous system: a computational and candidate gene approach.

Research on the phenotypic reprogramming of animal cells (e.g. generation of iPSCs, iNCs, and iSMCs) using computational, bioengineering, and molecular techniques. This includes the fundamental properties, cellular mechanisms, and applications of cellular plasticity and artificially-induced neuronal cells (neurons and muscle).

2011-2013. Technology commercialization analyst, MSU Technologies, East Lansing, MI.

msu-t

Assessment of technological innovations in terms of marketability and start-up potential. Areas of expertise: computational biology, nanotechnology, robotics.

2003-2009. PhD specialization in Cognitive Science (Computing and Cognitive Neuroscience). Media Interface and Network Design (MIND) Lab, Michigan State University.


Research topic: Augmented Cognition, Neuromechanics, and Adaptive Variation in Virtual Environments.

Virtual environments, human neuromechanics, and computational models to understand human behavior. Application domains include the integration of mechanical devices, interactive computing, haptic interfaces, and physiological function. Application of kinematic, behavioral, and electrophysiological measurements to a host of problems at the intersection of virtual environments and human performance.

1999-2002. Masters in Anthropology and Zoology. Mulligan Human Genetics Lab, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida.

Thesis title: Evaluating Intraspecific Variation and Interspecific Diversity: comparing humans, non-human Primates, and fish species.

A phylogenetic approach to intraspecific (within-species) and interspecific (between-species) mitochondrial DNA and morphological variation. Comparative data from non-human Primates and other vertebrates are also utilized. Comparative taxonomic, demographic, and molecular variance research on human and non-human molecular markers.

1997. Bachelors in Anthropology. Michigan State University.

CV
Recent Work
Selected Publications and Book Chapters
Co-organized Workshops and Conferences
Invited Lectures and Presentations
Figures, Infographics, and Code Releases
Conferences, Slideshows, and Posters
Blog Rolls, Short Papers, Data, and Demos/Tutorials
Popular Press
Teaching History