| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Languages | English and French |
Summary
- Data scientist/bioinformaticist with aptitudes for machine learning, RNA-Seq data analysis, multi-omics data integration and coding in Python, R, HTML, CSS and SQL
- Project management experience in multiple roles, including with the Canadian COVID Genomics Network (CanCOGeN) and the Canadian COVID Variants Rapid Response Network (CoVaRR-Net)
- Experience supervising and teaching students and other personnel
- Co-author of many successful grant applications
- 8 scholarships/fellowships ($201.5K total funds earned)
- First-hand experience with industrial partners in the areas of biotechnology and antimicrobial drug development
Experience
Sept 2022 – Present
Lead Coordinator and Data Analytics / Canadian COVID Variants Rapid Response Network (CoVaRR-Net)
- Spearheaded the development and implementation of machine learning models in Python to pinpoint key factors linked to vaccine hesitancy, leading to the discovery of targeted outreach strategies to boost vaccine uptake.
- Designed a web quiz utilizing Python, Flask, and HTML/CSS to help users determine their eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine dose based on specific provincial/territorial guidelines, resulting in an easily accessible tool to enhance vaccine uptake.
- Created and deployed a Python Shiny web application that allows users to analyze mutations in SARS-CoV-2 genomes, enabling researchers to perform rapid risk assessment and response when new variants arise.
- Orchestrated a cross-disciplinary team of data analysts, evolutionary biologists, and programmers in the Computational Analysis, Modelling, and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO) initiative of CoVaRR-Net, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing SARS-CoV-2 evolution and spread in Canada.
May 2022 – Aug 2022
Program Manager / Genome Canada
- Led cross-functional teams to successfully launch and implement new programs.
- Developed and managed project plans, budgets, and timelines for multiple simultaneous initiatives, ensuring on-time completion and within budget.
- Oversaw the execution of program milestones and deliverables, coordinating with stakeholders to resolve issues and mitigate risks.
- Conducted regular status meetings with team members and provided guidance and support to ensure project goals were achieved.
Feb 2020 – May 2022
Research Associate / Simon Fraser University
- Utilized comprehensive computational and statistical expertise to troubleshoot issues, implement best practices, and drive improvement initiatives.
- Spearheaded the design and deployment of a PostgreSQL database on AWS RDS to efficiently store Canadian SARS-CoV-2 case and sequencing data.
- Crafted and launched an interactive dashboard hosted on Heroku, complete with an ETL pipeline to showcase live Canadian SARS-CoV-2 case and vaccination data.
- Engineered a Python-based ML software package to automatically identify outliers in longitudinal data and forecast future time points using various statistical strategies.
Jan 2014 – Apr 2018
Research Associate / R.E.W. Hancock Lab, University of British Columbia
- Supervision of the bioinformatics and RNA-Seq programs for the Hancock lab.
- Built and improved pipelines on a Linux server with Bash scripts for breaking down and analyzing large amounts of complex data.
- Utilized random forest machine learning approaches in R to identify sets of genes driving disease etiology.
- Developed a novel statistical algorithm in R to identify gene expression signatures associated with diseases that have overlapping symptomologies, thus enabling greater diagnostic accuracy.
- Supervision and training of three graduate students, two research technicians and a colleague, interpreting computational jargon for biologists.
Aug 2012 – Nov 2013
MITACS and Connect Canada-Funded Intern / Indel Therapeutics, Inc. and Fiona Brinkman Lab, Simon Fraser University
- Identified potential antimicrobial drug targets and performed in silico ligand docking with proteins to find potential antimicrobial compounds active against a range of pathogens.
- Worked at the interface of an academic/industry project and balanced the needs of both entities.
- Contributed to grant applications and annual reports for Indel Therapeutics.
Feb 2009 – Jul 2012
Bioinformatics for Combating Infectious Diseases (BCID) Project Manager and CIHR-Funded Postdoctoral Researcher / Fiona Brinkman Lab, Simon Fraser University
- Managed the overall BCID project, which aimed to develop improved bioinformatics methods to accelerate the identification of novel antimicrobial and anti-infective drug targets and drugs. The project involved 14 research groups from five interdisciplinary departments within the university.
- Coordinated a working group comprised of 3 faculty members, a postdoctoral fellow, four graduate students and a software developer.
- Studied gene expression in a multi-drug resistant pathogenic bacterium while co-developing novel methodology that revealed a genome-wide map of transcript cleavage, indicating a novel form of gene regulation.
Sept 2004 – Mar 2009
NSERC and University of British Columbia Genetics Program-Funded PhD Student / Naomi Fast Lab, University of British Columbia
- Studied fungal pathogens that infect diverse animals including humans, where I co-discovered a large dichotomy in gene expression between life stages that does not appear to have a parallel in currently studied organisms.
- Taught myself to write perl scripts to assist in my computational research.
May 2002 – Aug 2004
Lab Technician and Honors Student / Andrew Roger Lab, Dalhousie University
- Studied relic mitochondrial organelles in an anaerobic amoeba for my honours research project where I characterized the organelles via transmission electron microscopy, confocal microscopy and density gradient centrifugation to identify proteins that are localized within the organelles
- Operated a DNA sequencer for two research groups and worked on a variety of projects where I maintained axenic eukaryotic cell cultures
Scholarships, Awards and Fellowships
| May 2013 – Oct 2013 | MITACS Accelerate Internship |
| Dec 2012 – Mar 2013 | Connect Canada Internship |
| Aug 2012 – Nov 2012 | Connect Canada Internship |
| Jul 2010 – Jun 2012 | CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship |
| Sept 2006 – Feb 2009 | NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship D3 |
| Sept 2005 – Aug 2006 | NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship CGSM |
| Sept 2004 – Aug 2005 | University of British Columbia Genetics Program Entrance Scholarship |
| Sept 1999 – Aug 2000 | Dalhousie University Entrance Scholarship |
Presentations
| Oct 2017 | “Transcriptomics for biomarker discovery: Network biology approaches in systems immunology,” 1st International Precision Vaccines Conference, Boston, USA. |
| Sept 2017 | “Use of blood transcriptomic and clinical metadata for disease etiology discovery and outcome prediction in pediatric ANCA-associated vasculitis,” 24th European Pediatric Rheumatology Congress, Athens, Greece. |
| Nov 2010 | “Bioinformatic identification and laboratory evaluation of anti-infective drug targets in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” International Conference on Antimicrobial Research, Valladolid, Spain. |
| Jul 2008 | “Splicing and transcription in microsporidia: the spore-meront dichotomy,” International Society of Protistologists Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia. |
| May 2007 | “ESTs from the mosquito parasite Edhazardia aedis reveal a deficiency in transcriptional control,” retreat funded by the TULA foundation, Parksville, British Columbia. |
| May 2006 | “Effects of genome reduction on DNA repair processes in the microsporidian Encephalitozoon cuniculi,” Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Conference, Tempe, Arizona. |
Abstracts
| May 2023 | “Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO): detecting, characterizing and modelling the spread of emerging pathogens,” CoVaRR-Net Conference, Ottawa, Canada. |
| Oct 2017 | “Multi-OMIC data integration reveals dramatic neonatal immune ontogeny across the first week of life,” 1st International Precision Vaccines Conference, Boston, USA. |
| Jun 2015 | “NetworkAnalyst: a sophisticated, user-friendly tool for gene expression data analysis,” High Performance Computing Symposium, Montreal, Canada. |
| Sept 2011 | “Transcriptome and Transcription Start Site Analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” 13th International Conference on Pseudomonas. Sydney, Australia. |
| May 2011 | “Resources for transcriptome and genome analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa using RNA-seq and the Pseudomonas genome database,” American Society for Microbiology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana. |
| Mar 2011 | “Computational approaches and tools for infectious disease bioinformatics,” International Conference on Research in Computational Molecular Biology in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
| Sept 2009 | “Computational approaches for elucidating mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis,” Cold Spring Harbor Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Response annual meeting in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. |
| Oct 2007 | “The transcriptome of Edhazardia aedis,” Canadian Institute For Advanced Research Integrated Microbial Diversity conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
| Oct 2005 | “Phylogenetic analysis of eight genes suggests microsporidia are true fungi,” Genetics Program retreat at the University of British Columbia. |
Development of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP)-Teaching Experience
| Mar 2014 | Prepared and presented two guest lectures for a fourth year class (Microbiology 404 – Selected Topics in Pathogenesis) at the University of British Columbia |
| Oct 2010 | Prepared and presented a guest lecture for a fourth year class (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry 441 – Bioinformatics) at Simon Fraser University |
| Mar 2007 | Prepared material and presented two guest lectures in a fourth year class (Biology 431 – Advanced Cell Biology) at the University of British Columbia |
| Sept 2004 – Dec 2007 | Acted as a teaching assistant in four courses over five semesters at the University of British Columbia. These positions involved the demonstration of laboratory techniques, teaching of core concepts, and performing both oral and written evaluations of students |
HQP Mentorship Experience
| May 2009 – Jun 2009 | Scientists and Innovators in Schools (SIS) volunteer. I travelled to an elementary school in BC and conducted an interactive demonstration with the children in order to teach them about science. |
| Apr 2009 – May 2009 | Science Alive volunteer. I helped to facilitate weekend workshops for school age girls that explored many diverse scientific topics through hands-on activities. |
| Sept 2005 | Volunteer for new graduate student orientation in the Botany Department at the University of British Columbia. |
| Sept 2004 – Apr 2005 | Acted as a mentor for an undergraduate student in the University of British Columbia Tri-Mentoring Program. This student has since gone on to pursue graduate studies at the University of British Columbia. |
HQP Supervisory Experience
| Jan 2024 – Present | Co-supervised an undergraduate researcher. Supervisory duties include the explanation of statistical and machine learning concepts and advising regarding project direction. |
| Sept 2014 – Apr 2018 | Supervision of the bioinformatics and RNA-Seq programs for the Hancock lab. This involves effective communication with a rotating set of lab members, training of graduate students, supervision and training of research technicians, interviewing potential candidates and writing grant applications. |
| Jan 2016 – Feb 2016 | Trained a postdoctoral researcher to serve as my replacement while on maternity leave. |
| Jun 2014 | Trained a PhD student from a collaborator’s lab to conduct comprehensive analyses on RNA-Seq data using R. |
| Mar 2011 – Jul 2012 | Supervised a working group of six in the analysis of RNA-Seq data and preparation of the results for publication. |
May 2008 – Aug 2008 | Co-supervised an undergraduate student researcher, Cameron Grisdale. Supervisory activities included the demonstration and explanation of lab techniques and teaching the student to interpret his results. This student decided to pursue a master’s degree at the University of British Columbia beginning in September 2008. |
| May 2005 – Aug 2005 | Co-supervised an undergraduate student researcher, Valerie Limpright. Supervisory activities included the demonstration and explanation of lab techniques and teaching the student to interpret her results. |
Other Research-Related Contributions
| May 2023 | CoVaRR-Net Conference Breakout Session Co-Chair: Data and Materials Sharing |
| Jun 2023 | Microbial Genomics Manuscript Reviewer |
| Nov 2016 | BMC Genomics Manuscript Reviewer |
| Oct 2016 | BMC Genomics Manuscript Reviewer |
| Sept 2016 | Hack-Seq 2016 Volunteer |
| May 2011 – Nov 2013 | Faculty of 1000 Associate Faculty Member (Genetics and Genomics) |
| Jun 2013 | BioEssays Manuscript Reviewer |
| Jan 2010 – Apr 2012 | Bioinformatics for Combating Infectious Diseases (BCID) Project Manager |
| Oct 2010 | ISMEJ Manuscript Reviewer |
| Oct 2007 | Session Chair (“Mitochondria”) at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Integrated Microbial Diversity conference in Vancouver, BC |
| Sept 2005 – Aug 2008 | Member and event organizer for the Botany Graduate Students’ Associate at the University of British Columbia |
Professional Development Activities
| Feb 2024 | Fundamentals of OCAP |
| Nov 2021 | Codecademy: Learn Intermediate Python 3 |
| Jul 2021 | Codecademy: Design Databases with PostgreSQL |
| Jun 2021 | Codecademy: Data Scientist Career Path |
| Dec 2013 – Jan 2014 | Coursera class: An introduction to interactive programming in Python (Rice University) |
| Jun 6 – 7, 2013 | Software Carpentry Boot Camp: Version Control and Python |
| Feb 6 – 7, 2013 | MITACS workshop: Foundations of Project Management II |
| Jan 22 – 23, 2013 | MITACS workshop: Foundations of Project Management I |
| Nov 27, 2012 | MITACS workshop: Managing Projects |
| Apr 13, 2012 | MITACS workshop: Proactive and Practical Communication |
| Aug 23, 2010 | MITACS workshop: Practice Your Presentation Skills I |
| Jun 23, 2010 | MITACS workshop: Art, Science and Practice of Positive Networking |
Erin E. Gill, PhD 