Command-line ninja; nimble script developer; first-line data analyst and visualizer; software pipeline master plumber; biologist-to-technical translator.
Freelancing Focus: I enjoy taming difficult data, and training people in methods they can use to work with it in the future. Python and Bash (Unix) allow for precise data handling that is difficult or impossible in Excel due to volume or complexity. The Advanced Bash Scripting Guide is one of my favorite online works, and I have recently been employed teaching introductory Unix to summer interns. Since communication is one of my major goals, especially in working with non-technical clients, explanations and documentation of my methods are always available upon request.
Background: My degree is in biology, and my formal job experience is mostly in the technical realm. This combination drew me into bioinformatics six years ago after a first post-university career in database-driven web development. I learned my next-generation sequencing informatics in a cancer genomics setting, and have recently left that subfield to take a break and seek a similar position in the ecological sciences. Currently, I help build robust analysis pipelines for labs or research groups that lack have their own dedicated informaticists, or need extra pairs of hands to tackle large scripting or analysis projects.
Experience: During my web years, I wrote user interfaces and database- or XML-based content management systems, and was a software testing lead. On the genomics side, I managed pipeline architecture and throughput, and performed primary analysis for next-gen DNA-Seq portions of big data/big science projects including TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas).
Interests: Though my highest-demand skills are in data handling, I also enjoy other sorts of work in between. I may apply for occasional positions in proofreading, editing, graphics, or other side areas at prices lower than my full professional rate.
Work Terms
I can work out useful daily communications overlaps with most parts of the world, being on Central US time (Houston/Chicago) but tending to work in the evenings. Skype or other apps are welcome, for text, voice, or video, as you prefer.