Q: Where are you from?
A: Winston Salem, NC (home of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!)
Q: What is your educational and/or professional background?
A: BS in Physics from UNC-Chapel Hill, PhD in Biomedical Engineering from NC State (technically a joint-UNC/NC State program)
Q: How did you get into your field?
A: In my undergrad electronics classes, I developed an interest in neural interfaces and neural prostheses that led me to grad school. My grad work was more broadly about field effect transistor (FET) biosensors, including how you could modify a semiconductor material’s surface properties to change how cells interact with that surface. All stuff that I still care about and find very interesting – but by the end of grad school, I was ready to step away from the bench. I wanted to contribute to or have some kind of role in biomedical research or healthcare, and Epic gave me a chance to work in that industry and try my hand at writing. When I learned about research administration, though, I really wanted to move in that direction.
Q: What attracted you to the UW Carbone Cancer Center?
A: The idea of supporting and facilitating research was really appealing to me. I saw my original role in preaward as offloading some of the administrative burden of applying for funding so faculty could spend that time and energy on the actual research. The scientist/engineer part of my brain is also delighted to be back on the fringes of research – I love going to program meetings to hear talks, and I’ve started attending UWCCC Grand Rounds every now and then because I’m fascinated by the work folks are doing here.
Q: What are you enjoying most about your position?
A: I am constantly learning – it’s easy for me to lose the forest for the trees, because we (as a cancer center) are involved in and doing so much cool stuff! And part of my job is making sure we can tell the story of that cool stuff when it comes time to renew the core grant, so that’s pretty great.
Q: Do you feel your work contributes to the goals of the cancer center?
A: I see my role as an opportunity to offload burden from UWCCC leadership and other folks involved with the core grant and the UWCCC as a whole. If I can coordinate the administration of the core grant, make sure we’re getting the data we need, verify that we’re meeting our obligations per the NCI, etc – that’s time and thought-energy that others can spend on advancing the goals and aims of the UWCCC, without worrying about the standard CCSG maintenance tasks.
Q: What do you wish people knew about your position?
A: I want to be a resource for information about the UWCCC and someone who can help folks connect the dots; I strive for an unofficial title of “knower of things.” (I don’t think I’m there yet, but I’m working on it!)
Q: What is your favorite place on the UW-Madison campus?
A: To avoid falling back on “the Terrace” – probably the nosebleed seats in the Kohl center. We split the “family 4-pack” ticket deal with friends so we can have a hot dog and watch some hockey (…from very far away). Good times and fond memories!
Q: What have you read lately and what was it about?
A: I’ve been working my way through The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey (am currently 1/3-way through “Cibola Burn”). All of the cool space hijinks of good sci-fi, all of the exploration you’d expect for probing a new frontier, with just enough policy and intrigue… Showing humanity’s reaction to weird space stuff is just as engaging as the weird space stuff itself.
Q: What is your guilty pleasure?
A: Store-bought cookie dough. I can make a mighty fine homemade batch, including heat-treating the flour if I feel like snacking on raw cookie dough, but there’s something about sitting down with a pack of break-and-bakes and a pair of chopsticks…
Q: Who would you like to be for a day?
A: Hafthor Bjornsson. Not for the GOT connection – but to know what it’s like to be 6’9″ and capable of deadlifting >1,000 lbs!
