About me
Biography
- I am originally from the suburbs of Chicago, where my family still lives.
- I specialized in biology, chemistry and cancer biology at the University of Chicago, where I was an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research assistant in cancer biology. I then studied biology education and earned my Professional Educator License (IL) in biology and chemistry.
- I worked as science lab coordinator and sponsored two science clubs at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. I stayed involved in research as a weekend lab technician studying the evolution and development of limbs with Neil Shubin at University of Chicago.
- At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, I helped generate custom genetic mouse models of chronic lymphocytic leukemia combining CRISPR with hematopoietic stem cell transplants into immunodeficient mice.
- As my chronic neurological disorder progressed, I learned programming and genomic data science from online courses so that I could transition to bioinformatics and stay involved in biomedical science.
- I am currently the lead content developer for the Data Science and Genomics Data Analysis online course series from HarvardX.
- I live in Cambridge, MA with my husband Stephen Rosen and our three cats: Geddy, Neil and Alex.
Personal interests
Hiking and nature
Stunning landscapes bring me a sense of wonder and peace. Stephen and I love exploring nature, and our favorite way to do so is through day hikes. Although my disability requires me to move slowly and carefully with physical supports, that challenge enhances my joy and sense of accomplishment when I summit a mountain or complete a trail. We hope to travel widely and experience more natural wonders across the world. I also live vicariously through nature documentaries.
Some of my favorite hiking locations (so far):
- Acadia National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Arches National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Geirangerfjord, Norway
Reading
I am a voracious reader primarily interested in nonfiction and science writing, but with a complementary appreciation for classic literature.
Recommended science writing:
- Your Inner Fish, Neil Shubin
- The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee
- The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan
- The Making of the Fittest, Sean B. Carroll
- To Engineer is Human, Henry Petroski
- I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong
- Linked, Albert-László Barabási
- The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean
Recommended fiction:
- The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
- Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
- The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Board games
Stephen and I are board game aficionados and have a substantial game collection. We are always interested in finding like-minded gamers to play with.
Recommended board games:
- Pandemic
- Settlers of Catan
- Ticket to Ride
- Lords of Waterdeep
- Patchwork
- Paperback
- Agricola
- Terraforming Mars
- 7 Wonders
- Roll for the Galaxy
- Hanabi
- Photosynthesis
- Power Grid
- Arkham Horror
Canning
Together, Stephen and I enjoy making jam, jelly and fruit butter from fresh-picked fruit. We hope that our family and friends think our products are as delicious as we do! Some of our past products include black raspberry jam, apple butter, blueberry jam, currant jelly, pear butter and mixed berry preserves.
Hockey
Stephen and I are avid hockey fans, especially of the Chicago Blackhawks (though we follow the whole NHL). One of our goals is to visit every NHL hockey stadium.