Biological Science Technician
United States Department of Agriculture
Appalachian Fruit Research Station
After graduating from Shepherd College in 1996 with a degree in
Psychology and General Science, I accepted a temporary research
position at USDA-ARS, where I had been employed part-time for the
previous two years. This position mainly focused on tasks
including data entry, entomology, and participation in genetic studies
involving pears. Soon after taking the temporary position, I was asked
to take a one-year temporary position as a technician in the molecular
biology laboratory. I served as the coordinator of a project
looking at a heat-shock protein gene in tomatoes and peaches.
Responsibilities in this position included DNA and RNA extraction,
Northern and Southern analysis, PCR, plant greenhouse management, data
organization, and sample collection. Experimental Neuropsychology Master of Arts Program
August 1997-May 1999 George Mason University
In August of 1997, I began the Experimental Neuropsychology Master of
Arts program at George Mason University. During the program, I
completed coursework in statistics, regression, and experimental
design. As part of the requirements for graduation, I completed a
thesis based on a project funded by the United States Geological Survey
which examined the effects of zinc in drinking water on the learning
and memory capabilities of rats. SPSS was used to complete the
data analysis for the quantitative study. New skills learned
during the process of completing the thesis were animal care and
handling, data collection methods such as the Morris Water Maze, data
analysis including ANOVA, literature review, and learning to write a
research-based paper.
While in the Neuropsychology program, I also participated in research
with a team from the developmental psychology department that was
investigating the function of attention in normally-developing
school-age children. Additionally, I was employed as a graduate
research assistant for the molecular biology lab affiliated with the
experimental neuropsychology department. In this position I was tasked
to design and outfit an area of the lab for DNA/RNA extraction and to
begin using these procedures with data samples collected by the
laboratory.
Summer Intramural Fellowship
National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Laboratory of Human Neurogenetics
In the summer of 1998, I was awarded an Intramural Research Training
Award at NIH. As a summer fellow, I was given the opportunity to
attend training on the main NIH campus with other student researchers
and was employed as a research assistant with the Lab of Human
Neurogenetics at NIAAA, working on a project to identify similarities
in genes involved with several mental health concerns including
schizophrenia and depression. At the lab, I utilized my knowledge
in PCR and also learned the skills of genotyping, and HPLC.
Self-Study Group with Dr. Anastasia Samaras
George Mason University As an elective for my minor, I selected to take a new
course offered in the Spring of 2005 focused on the self-study of
teacher educators given by Dr. Anastasia Samaras. As a
requirement of the course, participants were asked to complete their
own self-study. I chose to conduct my study by looking at the
role of the school psychologist for providing perceived classroom needs
of teachers with implementing the Response-to-Intervention data
collection model. At the conclusion of the semester, the
professor and students engaged in studying data regarding their
participation in self-study course. Two paper presentations regarding
the group experience of the self-study process were presented at the
2007 AERA conference in Chicago. In addition, the group published
an article in the November 2007 issue of Reflective Practice and
was invited to author a chapter in an edited volume discussing learning
communities. Skills learned from these experiences include basic
information on qualitative
research, qualitative research design, data collection, literature
review, critical editing of my own and others work, and scholarly
writing. In the summer of 2008, four members of the self-study
group traveled to England to participate in the Seventh International
Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices. We presented
our paper on critical friends and participated in a number of
interesting sessions. The conference was an excellent learning
experience as a novice researcher and all of the group members who
attended plan to go again for the next conference. In addition to
the conference procedings, the members of the original self-study class
were invited to help author a book chapter with Dr. Samaras for a new
book on Learning Communities. The book was published in October
and we are eagerly awaiting our copies.
Advanced Internship in Education
Teaching For Change
Washington, D.C. During the summer of 2007, I completed my
advanced internship in education with the organization Teaching for
Change in Washington, D.C. Teaching for Change is committed to
helping educators bring socially-responsive literature into classroom
settings and to helping build bridges between parents, schools, and
communities. For my internship, I worked with the Roving Readers
project of Tellin' Stories. Tellin' Stories uses storytelling and
quiltmaking to help parents and teachers build advocacy groups between
home and school. As part of my internship, I was asked to
complete a literature review of current research regarding
intergenerational family literacy programs in the United States and
abroad. This review formed the basis of the manual I was asked to
write to help other schools start Roving Readers programs in their
buildings.