User talk:Kam D. Dahlquist

Hey Dr. Dahlquist, did you ever consider medical school? What made you choose the research path? Kevin Matthew McKay 20:34, 17 January 2013 (EST)

I didn't consider medical school. I'm actually pretty squeamish and have fainted at the sight of blood. My parents instilled in me a love of science by giving me lots of educational opportunities when I was a kid. I really loved my AP Biology class in high school, which inspired me to become a biology major. I did undergraduate research in a plant physiology lab, which got me interested in research. I also had always wanted to be a teacher because I loved my teachers and loved school when I was a kid. This all came together to choose a profession as a biology professor where I could both teach and do research.

— Kam D. Dahlquist 19:38, 21 January 2013 (EST)

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Hi Dr. Dahlquist, I understand that you have a strong background in biology; what led you to have an interest in biomathematics? How has biomathematics helped you to become a better biologist? Thanks, Laura Terada 15:31, 17 January 2013 (EST)

I got interested in biomathematics when I was a postdoc at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease/UCSF. I was working on analyzing data from microarrays and it became really clear that I needed to learn statistics in order to analyze the data properly. We were also working on visualizing the data on biological pathways. I got started in modeling because I wanted to have a more quantitative model of the data we were visualizing on pathways. The biomathematics has helped me become a better biologist because I am able to perform a more robust analysis of quantitative data. I feel that I have a "leg up" on other biologists who do not do this type of analysis.

— Kam D. Dahlquist 19:43, 21 January 2013 (EST)