Project Role
I’m using a specially bred population of corn to look for rare and deleterious alleles. With this population, I can look for associations between different genotypes and a particular trait. I record information in the field (like flowering time and plant height), after harvest (like yield traits), perform statistical analyses, and analyze genotypes.

Why I became a scientist/Why I love my job
I grew up outside of Chicago, but not out into the corn- and soybean-growing areas. I had a lot of different interests growing up, and now, but always enjoyed being outside and learning about the natural world. I guess I wanted to be a scientist so that I could find out how different parts of the world work. I was really lucky to have my dad be a scientist—it let me know that being a scientist was a job you could have! While I’m relatively new to corn, I already love it! I really like my job because there’s a lot of outdoor time in the summer, pollinating corn and collecting data. But then, in the winter, and when I’m not working outside, I can do genetic and bioinformatics analyses on my computer. It’s also a lot of fun to work with so many different scientists—if you’re not an expert in a particular area or are interested in know how someone else approached a problem, it’s easy to contact someone who can offer advice.

Education
PhD Plant Biology University of Texas, Austin
BA Biology (Genetics/Molecular biology concentration) Northwestern University