What inspired you to apply for a position at HudsonAlpha?
It’s the people at HudsonAlpha. I’ve been working with several of the labs at HudsonAlpha for years, and everyone that I have met has always been incredibly kind, knowledgeable and willing to help with projects.
Sarah Carey, PhD
What does your job consist of?
My position is generating tissue, DNA and RNA for some projects that I am really excited about. Our lab mostly works with plants. It’s a lot of working with collaborators, collecting some plants ourselves and sequencing them at HudsonAlpha. When we get the sequences back I get to analyze the data. That’s my favorite part.
What set you on your career path?
In high school, I hadn’t found my niche yet. Once I started college, I realized there was so much more out there in the world of biology and more to learn. I started at the state college and transferred to UF (University of Florida) to finish my bachelors. I then realized I wanted to be a scientific researcher for the rest of my life. I wanted to ask questions and try to answer them.
What do you enjoy most about the work that you do?
I really enjoy data wrangling, but my favorite thing is working with a lot of people to develop these high-quality resources to share with others. We’re answering questions, but also generating resources that other people can use. When we create reference genomes, they’re not just for us, they’re for all scientists who are interested in them. There’s so much potential for what people can use these data for.
What advice would you give someone just starting out in their career?
If you have an opportunity to do some sort of research experience, even if you don’t think you have the skills, take a chance. You might find out you really enjoy something that you never thought you would. For example, I didn’t think I liked computers, and now, all I do is computer work.