Biography

I've been interested in all aspects of science throughout my life. My mind is full of questions about everything I experience and I do what I can to investigate and find answers. I love puzzles and many things in life can be viewed as puzzles waiting to be solved. I wonder about things like the physics of my skateboard when I'm riding around flipping it and jumping into the air - the frictional forces, my moment of inertia etc.

I have a background in computer science and mathematics which I pursued because of my interest in how the programs and games that I used worked. I became interested in the biological sciences after reading much about genetic genealogy and it's uses for the evolution of human beings on large and small scales. The Y chromosome for example, passes from father to son unchanged except for small occasional mutations. One example being repeats in contiguous base pairs or changes in single nucleotides (SNP). Depending on location, these mutations have approximate rates of mutation which can be used to compare several sets of DNA and estimate a time frame in which they branched apart from a common ancestor. This is useful for tracing all sorts of biological migration. This also, of course, applies to microbes.

I hope to get experience with pertinent lab techniques and research into these aspects of biology and possibly more - and pursue them further in my career.