COVID Testing
As the clinical lab manager and development scientist for the Arizona Molecular Clinical Core, I oversaw clinical validation, workflow implementation and daily processing for COVID diagnostic and antibody testing services through the University of Arizona. Working with an amazing team at the AZClinCore and UArizona's Test All Test Smart initiative, at its maximum capacity, the AZClinCore processed and reported 2,893 COVID RT-PCR results in a single day (29 January 2021). Over the 3 years of providing COVID testing services, the dedicated and talented technologists at the AZClinCore processed a total 258,397 clinical PCR tests for the UArizona community. From 29 April 2020 to 22 September 2021, AZClinCore provided 44,524 COVID antibody test results to Arizona residents and continues to run the assay for long-tern research studies; processing over 45,000 total samples and running over 375,000 total reactions.
Genographic Project
During my role at the University of Arizona Genetics Core, it was my job to manage daily operations for high-profile, large-scale projects such as National Geographic and IBM’s “Genographic Project.” For the Genographic Project, we used cutting-edge technology to successfully process over 500,000 DNA samples from people all around the world so they could learn about their deep ancestry.
Bolson Tortoise Recovery
The Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus) is the largest tortoise species native to North America. During the late Pleistocene, the species occupied desert grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert but now the only wild population teeters on the edge of extinction in north-central Mexico. The Bolson Tortoise recovery effort is using captive breeding to expand the species back to its former range in New Mexico. I provide genotyping services and technical advice for the captive breeding efforts to the Turner Endangered Species Fund.