CompBio Cafe (BWCB)

We talk to Aneesa Valentine, MS, about everything from bioinformatics to data science and AI. After leaving her PhD program, she embarked on a journey in data science. We explore her experience outside of academia and into the world of data science and AI.

About Aneesa

Aneesa is a Data Scientist and Researcher at heart.

She earnestly began Biosciences Research during undergrad, where she participated in several

Research Honors programs (MARC, C-STEP etc.). Throughout her undergraduate tenure, in

addition to conducting research at her alma mater Brooklyn College, she interned at several R1

institutions allowing her to contribute to research projects spanning Biophysics, Microbiology &

and Genetics.

Post undergrad, she completed a Post Baccalaureate Research Program (PREP) at Tufts

University, pushing the boundaries of Infectious Diseases research using humanoid models of

gastrointestinal fungal infection.

On par with her academic career pursuits, she began her PhD in Bioinformatics at the Albert

Einstein College of Medicine where she became enamored with Computational methods,

specifically supporting Genomics Research. Though the data she generated contributed to a

research publication during her brief graduate tenure, her love for algorithms prematurely drew

her to an industry career in Data Science & AI.

She effectively “mastered out” of her program, and more recently became a Data Scientist in the

commercial Data Science space. Since then, she has developed real-world Machine Machine

Learning & Analytics expertise by leading and contributing to projects impacting millions of

individuals.

Aneesa’s domain expertise in Biology and Bioinformatics has challenged her to exploit her

rigorous quantitative training and intellectual curiosity to generate impact beyond the academy.

Aneesa's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aneesav/

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The CompBio Cafe Podcast is brewing up fresh perspectives in the CompBio world. Hosts Jenea Adams and Melyssa Minto, PhD are two trained computational biologists who serve the Black Women in Computational Biology Network (BWCB).

Learn more about us at blackwomencompbio.org

Subscribe to CompBio Cafe wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review once you've listened to a few episodes!

Join today’s conversation with 3 of BWCB’s stellar African scientists: Winfred Gatua, MS(BWCB Regional Representative, Africa/Europe; Ph.D. Student at the University of Bristol, UK), Nadia Harerimana (Associate Computational Scientist, Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC) and Ruth Nanjala, MS (Africa-Oxford, Kennedy, and Clarendon Scholar and Ph.D. Student). We discuss the opportunities and challenges of studying computational biology abroad as an African scientist and share tips and tricks for navigating this pathway for those looking to leave Africa to develop skills in computational biology.

• Nadia Harerimana; US training resources for international students:

  • Microsoft Ph.D. Research Fellowship

  • HHMI Gilliam Fellowship

  • Fulbright Program

  • PD Soros Fellowship for New Americans

• Winfred Gatua; General resource for finding an international PhD

  • https://www.findaphd.com/

• Ruth Nanjala; UK training resources for international students

  • https://www.findamasters.com/

  • Clarendon Scholarship

  • Kennedy Trust Scholarship

  • Africa-Oxford Initiative

The Black Women in Computational Biology Network is a global community of Black women scientists advancing biology through a computational lens. With over 200 members from 4 continents, we increase opportunities for collaboration, professional development, and science communication to change the face of integrative biosciences across the globe. The BlackInCompBio series highlights Black scientists from a variety of professional backgrounds and their stories.

BWCB Website: https://www.blackwomencompbio.org/

Donate to BWCB: https://tinyurl.com/bwcb-donate

Hosts & Producers: Winfred Gatua and Jenea Adams

Music: Sunshower by LATASHA, YouTube Music Library

Listen with subtitles: https://youtu.be/uOugKW4yFdI

In this episode, Melyssa and Jenea interview Dean Lee (Novartis) about his initiative Figure One Lab.

Figure One Lab helps people build a computational biology (compbio) portfolio by re-enacting Figure 1 of biology papers. We discuss key insights for using storytelling to land computational biology roles in biotech and pharma.

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The CompBio Cafe Podcast is brewing up fresh perspectives in the CompBio world. Hosts Jenea Adams and Melyssa Minto, PhD are two trained computational biologists who serve the Black Women in Computational Biology Network (BWCB).

Learn more about us at linktr.ee/bwcb.

Subscribe to CompBio Cafe wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review once you've listened to a few episodes.

2023 was a historic year of growth for BWCB. Listen to our story as we journey through the year's major accomplishments and look ahead to what 2024 has in store.

Welcome to the #BlackInCompBio Podcast Series.

Today we have Dr. Segun Fatumo, an associate professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the founder of the Nigerian Bioinformatics and Genomics Network. He has made some significant contributions to the field related to genetic risk scores and capacity building for Genomics research throughout Africa, and we are excited to hear about his career journey, research efforts, and outreach. Welcome, Dr. Fatumo!

Other News: You may recall that we’ve recently announced that we are a nonprofit organization. We are now an officially registered 501c3. This means we are a federally recognized tax-exempt organization and can uniquely expand programming and resources. This also means that any donations to BWCB are tax-deductible! We’ll share details soon about the best ways to make contributions, but for now, you can visit our verified PayPal charity page for one-time donations. We are incredibly grateful to those who have consistently donated to BWCB thus far. Do know that it has genuinely made a positive impact on our community. To this end, we are pleased to announce that The Black Women in Computational Biology Network has been selected as a 2023 Tech Equity Collective Impact Fund Recipient! Tech Equity Collective, an initiative started by Google, accelerates Black innovation and representation in tech by bringing together community and industry partners to create programs and experiences that lead to tangible progress of Black tech innovators. The TEC Impact Fund, with the support of @GoodieNation, provides financial funding to US Black-in-Tech organizations equipping aspiring Black professionals focused on core engineering and technical roles with the skills and tools to thrive in tech. We are proud Tech Equity Collective Advocates! We’re hosting a virtual community mixer on Saturday, June 10th at 12 pm US Eastern Time to celebrate this and many more accomplishments. We’ll also be sharing plans for our community stakeholders, hosting roundtables, and creating networking space for you to make new connections with members and other computational biologists. Registration is free, and you can find it at blackwomencompbio.org/events. Different upcoming ways to engage include our June podcast release, our open Journal Club on June 28th, and our long-awaited LIVE Black-In-CompBio seminar on July 26th. To stay current on these engagement opportunities, join as a member or supporter, and follow us on our social platforms.

Podcast team:

Melyssa Minto, Co-Host, Producer

Winfred Gatua, Co-Host

Jenea Adams, Co-Host, Producer, Editor

Important links:

• BWCB Website

• Register for our Community Mixer

• General BWCB links

• Donate to BWCB

Jenea and Melyssa discuss opportunities and experiences attending conferences from the perspective of diversity, belonging, and accessibility.

What are your thoughts on ways that conference organizations can increase accessibility and broaden participation? Let us know by emailing podcast@blackwomencompbio.org or leave a voicemail at +1-302-715-2922.

Links mentioned :

• https://binningsingletons.com/
• https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.04.588111v2.full

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The CompBio Cafe Podcast is brewing up fresh perspectives in the CompBio world. Hosts Jenea Adams and Melyssa Minto, PhD are two trained computational biologists who serve the Black Women in Computational Biology Network (BWCB).

Learn more about us at linktr.ee/bwcb.

Subscribe to CompBio Cafe wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review once you've listened to a few episodes.

In this episode, Ijeoma guest hosts a conversation with Francesca Tuazon, Founder and CEO of Science&. Science& uplifts the next generation of cutting-edge scientists with skills from the visual, written, and performance arts. We enter the world at the intersection of art and data storytelling in science.

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The CompBio Cafe Podcast is brewing up fresh perspectives in the CompBio world. Hosts Jenea Adams and Melyssa Minto, PhD are two trained computational biologists who serve the Black Women in Computational Biology Network (BWCB).

Learn more about us at linktr.ee/bwcb.

Subscribe to CompBio Cafe wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review once you've listened to a few episodes.

We've reimagined our podcast! Here's a taste of what you can look forward to this season.

Melyssa and Jenea attempt to answer the age-old question: what is computational biology?

In this episode, we dive into the world of spatial transcriptomics with Kalen Clifton, PhD Candidate Johns Hopkins University in the JEFworks Lab with Dr. Jean Fan. We highlight her latest Nature Communications paper detailing STalign: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43915-7.

You can find our guest, Kalen Clifton, on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalen-clifton/ and X (formerly twitter) here: https://x.com/kalen_clifton?s=20

Melyssa and Jenea discuss qualities of a work environment that is healthy and supportive for their growth as computational biologists.

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The CompBio Cafe Podcast is brewing up fresh perspectives in the CompBio world. Hosts Jenea Adams and Melyssa Minto, PhD are two trained computational biologists who serve the Black Women in Computational Biology Network (BWCB).

Learn more about us at linktr.ee/bwcb.

Subscribe to CompBio Cafe wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review once you've listened to a few episodes.

Dr. Evans' Bio

Chantell received a B.S. in Chemistry from Southern Illinois University and her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Her graduate thesis investigated Ca2+-regulated exocytosis using biochemistry and biophysics. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania where she used advanced microscopy and biochemical techniques to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that regulate mitophagy in primary neurons. Chantell is an inaugural recipient of the Hanna Gray Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

You can follow her on Twitter @channyskye and find her on LinkedIn as well as Chantell Evans, PhD.

Google Scholar I LinkedIn I Twitter

Learn more about Dr. Chantall Evans on her lab website https://www.evansresearchlab.com/.

If you’re interested in mitochondrial biology, neurodegenerative diseases, and quantitative imaging, the Evans labs is currently hiring postdocs!

Other Notes

This interview was hosted by Melyssa Minto and co-hosted by Jenea Adams on the Black Women in Computational Biology Network Executive Board.

The music is by Anno Domini Beats from the copyright-safe YouTube music library.

The Black Women in Computational Biology Network is a global community of Black women scientists advancing biology through a computational lens. With over 200 members from 4 continents, we increase opportunities for collaboration, professional development, and science communication to change the face of integrative biosciences across the globe. The BlackInCopBio series highlights Black scientists from a variety of professional backgrounds and their stories. Thank you for listening to this one!

BWCB Website: https://www.blackwomencompbio.org/

Donate to BWCB: https://tinyurl.com/bwcb-donate

Link to transcript

Jenea and Melyssa discuss Dr. Finley's journey into professorship as a computational researcher/mathematical biologist.

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Dr. Stacey Finley is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Quantitative & Computational Biology, at the University of Southern California and the inaugural holder of the Nichole A. and Thuan Q. Pham Professorship. Dr. Finley received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Florida A & M University and obtained her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University. She completed postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Finley joined the faculty at USC in 2013, and she leads the Computational Systems Biology Laboratory. Dr. Finley has a joint appointment in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and she is a member of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Finley is also a standing member of the MABS Study Section at NIH. Her research has been supported by grants from the NSF, NIH, and American Cancer Society.

Selected honors. 2016 NSF Faculty Early CAREER Award; 2016 Young Innovator by the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering journal; Leah Edelstein-Keshet Prize from the Society of Mathematical Biology; Junior Research Award from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering; the Hanna Reisler Mentorship Award; 2018 AACR NextGen Star; 2018 Orange County Engineering Council Outstanding Young Engineer; 2021 Elected Fellow of American Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering; 2022 Elected Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society

Lab website: https://csbl.usc.edu/

Lab Twitter: https://twitter.com/USCSysBio_Lab

Follow Dr. Finley's student, Diamond Mangrum, on Instagram (author of the paper referenced by Ijeoma in the episode): https://www.instagram.com/melanated.phd/?hl=en . She aims to demystify the Ph.D. process!

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The CompBio Cafe Podcast is brewing up fresh perspectives in the CompBio world. Hosts Jenea Adams and Melyssa Minto, PhD are two trained computational biologists who serve the Black Women in Computational Biology Network (BWCB).

Learn more about us at linktr.ee/bwcb.

Subscribe to CompBio Cafe wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review once you've listened to a few episodes.

Welcome to the #BlackInCompBio Podcast Series. The #BlackInCompBio series highlights Black computational biologists of all genders and professional stages and their stories. We use this platform to bridge the gap in representation and access to professional inspiration in the field.Javan Carter is a bioinformatic scientist at RTI, known for his expertise in phylogenomic analysis, programming languages, genomic ancestry, and genomic bioinformatic tools. With a diverse career trajectory, he has held positions as a head microbiologist at Sabra, a bioinformatic analyst at IQVIA, and served in academia as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and Wake Technical Community College. Driven by a passion for education, Dr. Carter is also a Researcher Academy Instructor at RTI, contributing to the All of Us database. Through his diverse experiences and expertise, Javan Carter has established himself as a highly-skilled bioinformatic scientist, making significant contributions to the field and advancing scientific research in thrombosis, opioid addiction, and Type 1 diabetes. The Black Women in Computational Biology Network is a global community of Black women scientists advancing biology through a computational lens. With over 200 members from 4 continents, we increase opportunities for collaboration, professional development, and science communication to change the face of integrative biosciences across the globe. The BlackInCompBio series highlights Black scientists from a variety of professional backgrounds and their stories.BWCB Website: https://www.blackwomencompbio.org/Produced by Melyssa Minto and Jenea Adams Hosted by Melyssa Minto and Jenea Adams Edited by Jenea AdamsMusic by LATASHA, YouTube Music Library

Melyssa and Jenea discuss how they keep up with comp bio via social media, conferences, and the literature.

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The CompBio Cafe Podcast is brewing up fresh perspectives in the CompBio world. Hosts Jenea Adams and Melyssa Minto, PhD are two trained computational biologists who serve the Black Women in Computational Biology Network (BWCB).

Learn more about us at linktr.ee/bwcb.

Subscribe to CompBio Cafe wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review once you've listened to a few episodes.