User:William A. C. Gendron

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William A. C. Gendron

I work in Dr. Fujishige's lab at LMU. I learned about OpenWetWare from my class and I've joined because I am taking a biomathematics course. The course is connected with this site and I will need to the tools provide to learn..

Education

Expected Graduation

  • 2015, BS in Biology(with an Applied Mathematics minor), Loyola Marymount University

Valuable Coursework in the field of Biomathematics

  • Mathematics
    • Calculus 1-3
    • Ordinary Diferential Equations
    • Methods of Applied Mathematics
    • Introduction to Probability/Statistics
    • Linear Algebra
  • Biology
    • Plant Physiology and Lab
    • Molecular Biology
    • Animal Behavior
    • Prinicples of Ecology
    • Advanced Topics in Gene Expression(Seminar)
    • Cell Biology
    • Sustainable Practices
    • Immunology
    • Tropical Science and Culture
    • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Chemistry
    • Introduction to Modern Microscopy
    • Introduction to Modern Spectroscopy

Career Interests and Goals

  • Career Interests
    • I hope to pursue a PhD in Virology and Gene Therapy. I have applied to several programs and am in the process of interviewing. I hope to use this degree to furhter explore viral vectors and develop new biomedical cures and tools.
  • Research interests
  1. Gene Therapy
  2. Virology
  3. Neurobiology
    • I am hoping to work in a combination of these three fields in graduate school and further on in my career. I believe that all of these represent a frontier in medicine.
  • Research Experience
    • Plant Biotechnology Research
      • Department: Biology, LMU
      • Mentor: Dr. Nancy Fujishige
      • Focus: Plant Genetic Modification
      • Time: August 2014-May 2015
    • Ecology Research
      • Department: Biology, LMU
      • Mentor: Dr. Victor Carmona
      • Focus: Heavy Metal and Ecological Analysis of Moths in the Ballona Wetlands
      • Time: August-December 2014
      • Resulting Presentations/Papers:
        • Paper submitted to Bios: William Gendron, Katherine Wikholm, Maria Shibastuji, Dr. Victor Carmona. "The Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Insects of Ballona Wetlands" Submitted.
        • Powerpoint Presentation December 2014: EcologyHeavyMetalPresentation
    • Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at Mayo Clinic
      • Department: Virology and Gene Therapy, Mayo Clinic
      • Mentor: Dr. Michael Barry
      • Focus: AAV Capsid Modification and Tropism Evaluation
      • Time: Summer of 2014(10 weeks)
      • Resulting Presentations/Papers:
        • SURF Poster Presentation July 30th 2014:
        • Paper in Progress
          • Title unknown. Contributors thus far: Dr. Adam Guenzel, William Gendron, Mathew Hillstead, Dr. Michael Barry. In progress.
          • Poster from presentation: MayoSURFPoster
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (Organic Chemistry)
      • Department: Chemistry, LMU
      • Mentor: Dr. Jeremy McCallum
      • Focus: Telomere Stabilization
      • Time: August-December 2013
      • No presentations or papers.
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program and Summer Undergraduate Research Program (Spider Lab and Loyola Marymount University)
      • Department: Biology, LMU
      • Mentor: Dr. Martina Ramirez
      • Focus: Spider Population Genomics
      • Time: August 2012-July 2013
      • Resulting Presentations/Papers:
        • SURP Powerpoint Presentation
    • Volunteer Summer Research
      • Department: Biology, LMU
      • Mentor: Dr. Kuleck
      • Focus: Viral Ecology in Ballona Wetlands
      • Time: June 2012-August 2012
    • SEAPHAGES Class and Research
      • Department: Biology, LMU
      • Mentors: Dr. Yiwen Fang, Dr. Urbinati, Dr. Kuleck
      • Focus: Phage Isolation and Evaluation
      • Time: August 2011-May 2012
      • Resulting Presentations/Papers:
        • Presentation at National SEAPHAGE Conference
          • HHMI Poster
          • eLIFE Paper Submitted
          • Link to online journal
          • Welkin H. Pope, Charles A. Bowman, Daniel A. Russell, Deborah Jacobs-Sera,David J. Asai,Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science(SEA-PHAGES), Phage Hunters Integrating Research and Education (PHIRE) PHIRE, Mycobacterial Genetics Course (MGC), StevenG.Cresawn, William R. Jacobs Jr., Roger W. Hendrix, Jeffrey G. Lawrence, and Graham F. Hatfull*. "Whole genome comparison of a large collection of mycobacteriophagesreveals a continuum of phage genetic diversity." Submitted.

Publications

  • For publication information see SEAPHAGES Class and Research, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at Mayo Clinic, and Ecology Research

Favorite Aspects of Biology

I have two favorite aspects of biology: First, I enjoy the ability to use biology to help people as either a biomedical or biotechnological tool. I am excited to see what the future holds in both of these fields and I hope to contribute to this field with some of my own creations. In particular, I see genetic modification and virology as two areas that have potential to change many things in the coming decades. Secondly, biology and evolution are a means to explain how the world is and how things came to be. This can be seen simply with something like Darwin's example of the finches, but the interesting questions to me go a little deeper than the superficial physiology. At the moment, my favorite question is: How and why did intelligence develop?

Favorite Aspects of Mathematics

Again I have two favorite aspects. I find the ability to create equations to define different situations and allow us to predict how the system will continue to be awesome. I am looking forward to learning how to create these equations in terms of biological systems. In addition to being able to define biological systems, I am glad I can use statistics to show significance. Without these methods, there is no way I could have made any sense of my data for my ecology paper.

Work Experience

Photosynthesis Lab Tech and Teacher Assistant

  • Position Held: August 2014-May 2015
  • Employer: Dr. Philipa Drennan of LMU
  • Responsibility: Assist with assembling the upgraded Infrared Gas Analyzer, prepare outlines for students to use the technology and assist with the class.

Personal Interests

  • Martial Arts: Judo, Fencing, Kickboxing and Muay Thai
  • Discussing Philosophy and Science

Useful links

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