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Ellie W

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Washington University in St. Louis

Expertise

Biology, Cancer biology, Genetics, Epigenetics, Genomics

Bio

Hi! My name is Ellie and I'm currently a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. As a student in the molecular genetics and genomics program, my goal has been to gain wide exposure to wet-lab techniques while my honing computational skills. For my thesis work, I've been studying the role of epigenetics in the development of acute myeloid leukemia and have been lucky to generate and analyze my own data sets capturing genome-wide methylation, histone modifications, and 3D chromatin architecture. When I'm not in the lab, I spend most of my time exercising, cooking, watching movies, and spoiling my dog! I'm looking forward to working with eager students who are ready to break into the molecular biology field and want to start building scientific perspective and skill sets that will carry them forward in college and beyond.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Writing a fundable grant

Successful grant writing is an exceptionally important skill to have as an individual pursuing a career in science. It requires an ability to synthesize existing research in a field and identify gaps in current knowledge, while convincing a funding audience that your project goals are promising routes to fill those gaps. Early exposure to grant writing strategies and styles will be invaluable to any student, whether or not they continue on in a science carrier, as the root of success in this endeavor is clear, concise, and effective written communication. For this project, a student will choose research area of interest, spend ample time reading the primary literature, identify a topic of incomplete understanding in the field, and work to design a set of rigorous experiments to address that gap in knowledge. We'll look at successful grants and work to implement tactics of effective communication to leverage your research goals. Depending on future goals, you may be able to submit your grant to the appropriate funding agency with the intent of supporting an independent research project in you post secondary education!

Coding skills

python, R, Linux

Teaching experience

I've always had a passion for teaching and its taken on many forms over the course of my life. I worked as a TA and student prefect throughout college and tutored k-12 students in the community during my spare time. I was also a varsity athlete in college and enjoyed sharing my love of soccer with young athletes as a coach and private trainer. After college I continued to coach while working in a medical diagnostic research lab in the Seattle area. Now that I'm back in school, have found time to tutor local students in the St. Louis area in a variety of subjects ranging from ACT prep to high school Spanish.

Credentials

Work experience

Washington University School of Medical in St. Louis (2017 - Current)
Graduate Student
Hematologics Inc. (2015 - 2017)
Research Associate
University of Minnesota (2014 - 2015)
Internship

Education

Carleton College
BA Bachelor of Arts (2015)
Biology
Washington University in St. Louis
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Completed Projects

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