COVID Testing
We were all faced with many challenges with the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Working with an amazing team at the University of Arizona Genetics Core and throughout the University, we are part of the solution in keeping people safe and getting things back to 'normal'. As the clinical lab manager and development scientist for the UAGC, I oversee clinical validation, workflow implementation and daily processing for COVID diagnostic and antibody testing services.
Genographic Project
In my role at the University of Arizona Genetics Core, it is 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.