Sheri (PhD '16) recently joined Notre Dame Research as the Associate Director of Bioinformatics for the
Genomics and Bioinformatics Core Facility, with an appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences as an Associate Professor of the Practice in Bioinformatics.
Continue reading below to learn more about Sheri.
What led you or attracted you to working at Notre Dame?
I missed working in an academic department and being around active, interesting research. I was housed in an IT department in my last job, and while very educational, it wasn't the same. I was really interested in a split teaching/research support position, so I was thrilled when this position came up. Plus, I missed being SW Michigan and hiking in the dunes.
How did you become interested in your area of work?
I've always gravitated toward computing, biology, and teaching, so academic biocomputing was a pretty obvious choice in retrospect. I took my time getting here though, detouring into zoo and aquarium science/herpetology, then traditional fieldwork in herpetology, then genomics research, then finally broad genomics and informatics support. It's been an interesting journey, but I like where I've ended up and plan to inhabit this space for a while
What is your proudest personal or professional achievement?
Professionally, I'm pretty proud of the program I built at the National Center for Genome Analysis Support - while it is no longer around, the training and resources we built had a pretty big impact on a lot of researchers. I hope to build on those efforts here. Personally, I'm pretty proud of using YouTube to teach myself how to build small old motorcycles from incomplete boxes of parts. It is a master class in not giving up in frustration, seeking help from online communities, and applying the scientific method to everything from rust removal to tracking down electrical gremlins. Now I help others on their way to do the same, especially women who find the very male-dominated hobby intimidating.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I have a lot of hobbies and like to learn new things. I have been learning to weld and dabble in hydroponic gardening and sewing. I also spend time playing story-based video games, reading, training my animals, and going on adventures with my husband.
What are five things you cannot live without?
- My husband, Ray. In addition to being wonderful to be around, he also feeds me.
- My animals. I have two dogs, two chickens, two parakeets, a lizard, and a snake!
- Caffeine. It's self-explanatory.
- The internet. I'm not sure I could do my job or hobbies without it!
- Free time!
Where do you find inspiration/motivation?
I really enjoy collaborations and figuring out how to get at interesting problems, especially in new applications and fields. I really like building resources to make computation less frustrating and watching students get their first genome assembled or complete an analysis that they have been struggling with is so rewarding.
Do you like to cook?
I learned how to make rice this year. I'm more the clean-up crew than the chef. I am also the supplier of the kitchen - I grow veggies and mushrooms and keep poultry for eggs, and now that we have land and live on a river, I'm hoping to add fruit trees and fish to the rotation as well.
Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself?
I'm excited to be back at ND!
