I am ready for work, but is work ready for me?

Yes! Yes, of course! There is always plenty to do and so much to learn in an awesome lab.

This is not what I mean by data mining

The lab that I joined does a lot of data mining and has a lot of ongoing projects many of which could use participation from the general public and the biomedical research community at large. If you study genes, you can contribute just by using the awesome BioGPS.org gene portal and giving feedback. If you have a favorite gene, you can contribute by editing gene wiki entries. If you can READ, you can contribute.

Other than that, that the Su lab is also applying the tools from integrative biology to investigate various diseases, and even investigating personalized medicine. To top it all off, this is just a sample of the projects in development by this awesome lab, so of course there is plenty to do…just not necessarily a place to set up shop. Although the lab is expanding into another area (I will have a work station soon), I joined just in time to take up residence in the conference room. My new colleagues are so nice, offering to let me use their work spaces when they are not using them. Apologies for refusing your kind gesture, workmates, but being in the conference room is like having an awesome office. There was concern that the conference room would be too crowded once the Fellow-new-person-but-smarter genius arrived, but the conference room is spacious enough, and more people = more fun anyway.

So what exactly does my job entail?

The short answer from the magic eight ball is, “Hazy, try again.”

The more accurate answer is, “As with any awesome job, there is a degree of flexibility in the responsibilities that will be encompassed by my position. Although some of the initial responsibilities are known to me thanks to the recruitment post there is plenty of room to grow, and even more neat projects to join.”

How marvelous is that?
 
 
 
Disclaimer: This post was actually drafted 2 weeks ago, but did not meet the standards required to be posted until recently. Ginger has since settle well into her role and was not harmed in the process.