Personal Statement
My programmatic research focuses on interfacing biology, bioinformatics, and engineering. My graduate advisor was Dr. Bernhard Palsson, and during my predoctoral program I was the first person to take genome sequence information and develop predictive mathematical models of bacterial metabolism. My research started a significant global effort and many papers from my graduate work have over 500 citations (two have ~1000 citations).
During my graduate work, I developed an intense interest in genomics technology and how technology can transform biology and the biomedical sciences. Pursuing this interest, I chose to work with Dr. George Church at Harvard Medical School in Boston for my post-doctoral studies developing what came to be known as “Next Generation sequencing technology.”
Now, at UNM I am in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center where I have spent the last 10 years advancing Next Generation Sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools. In addition to research, I have been actively involved in research training, education, and mentoring over the last 10 years of my career. In this role, as the previous Director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering, I helped establish a new graduate degree program in Bioinformatics. Additionally, I have serve at the NIH INBRE lead at the UNM main campus where I have actively mentored junior faculty at they competed for NIH support. I also currently serve as the Co-Director of the Bioinformatics Shared Resource at the UNMCCC.
Achievements & Awards
Awards: Outstanding Junior Professor of Engineering (2003-2004)
Memberships: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | American Society for Microbiology (ASM) | American Institute or Chemical Engineers (AIChE)