I started out catching toads in the field when I was an undergrad, and was interested in learning about how different populations are related to one another. The advances in DNA sequencing techniques have resulted in huge amounts of data being produced that can be used to address these questions. It isn't possible to analyse these large data sets without good computational techniques. I am excited about all the questions that can be answered with these new data, and it inspired me to learn computational skills. And, it turns out, I'm way better at programming than I am at wet lab work!

• Concentration
• Reading
• Writing
• Programming
• Statistics

A friend in my lab when I started grad school wrote some Python scripts for me to help me modify data-files for analyses. I started editing those scripts, and read a learn-Python book so that I could extend them on my own without always needing to ask for help! I eventually took a class in C++, and also worked with Software Carpentry on developing curriculum for teaching programming. I'm still learning the skills I need! Right now I'm working on learning to program in C.

We are investigating how to best use DNA sequence data to understand the evolutionary relationships among species. Also, I'm interested in how the way in which we generate or process our data can bias the conclusions we draw from those data.

Computational biology in an exciting growing discipline. Although I do miss doing biology work in the field, computational biology has given me the opportunity to travel and work in Japan, Turkey, and currently Germany!