Publications and Presentations
During my time in academia, I have amassed a few notable accomplishments. Of course, as the old saying goes, “if it isn’t published, then it never happened,” so here is a list of everything that actually happened.
Academia is not the be-all and end-all of life (contrary to what your professor might have told you). I’ve found the side-effects to be similar to this guy’s:
I have spent too long in school and not enough time in the middle of nowhere, and it has inhibited my ability to learn the simple things.
Bovine papillomavirus (BPV) is a major cause of reproductive failure in cattle.
In bulls, penile papillomas caused by BPV may cause reluctance to breed, and is
always a cause to fail an animal on a breeding soundness exam. Historically, it
has been thought that BPV was transmitted via direct contact and could be
controlled by managing clinically presenting animals in the herd, but more
recent evidence suggests alternative modes of transmission. BPV has been found
repeatably in clinically healthy …
Viral populations within an infected host are composed of viral particles with a
spectrum of genetic mutations rather than a unified genome. This phenomenon is
referred to as viral “quasispecies,” and has been useful for the understanding
of viral transmission and early detection of new viral variants. Next generation
sequencing (NGS) has enabled the study of these quasispecies for many viral
species, notably Influenza A and B, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Foot and
Mouth …
Metagenomic classification tackles the problem of characterising the taxonomic
source of all DNA sequencing reads in a sample. A common approach to address the
differences and biases between the many different taxonomic classification tools
is to run metagenomic data through multiple classification tools and databases.
This, however, is a very time-consuming task when performed manually -
particularly when combined with the appropriate preprocessing of sequencing
reads before the classification. …
Bioremediation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifers can be
hindered by high contaminant concentrations and acids generated during
remediation. Encapsulating microbes in hydrogels may provide a protective,
tunable environment from inhibiting compounds; however, current approaches to
formulate successful encapsulated systems rely on trial and error rather than
engineering approaches because fundamental information on mass-transfer
coefficients is lacking. To address this …