About Beth

I am a molecular biologist, educator, and illustrator living with my dogs in Seattle, WA. I have over 15 years of experience as a standardized test prep tutor and have taught biology at the college level. My recent hobbies include creating silly animal stickers (e.g. a hungover penguin) and starting a biology blog. I am authentic, friendly, and relaxed, and I believe in the importance of balance. Because of my diverse passions, my path has been unique. As an undergraduate, I attended Stanford University, where I majored in Human Biology. I was interested in ecology, so I studied coral reefs and coastal forests in Australia and tropical rainforest bees in Costa Rica. I also minored in Studio Art. Growing up in a low-income community gave me an interest in educational equity, so I stayed on at Stanford to earn a Master's in Education and a multiple subject teaching credential from the Stanford Teacher Education Program. I combined my interests in ecology and education by working as an informal science educator at a zoo for several years. At the zoo, I developed an interest in the reproduction of endangered species. I did an internship with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, isolating hormones from clouded leopard poop. I then enrolled in the PhD program in Animal Biology at UC Davis, where I studied the molecular mechanisms of sperm-egg fusion. At UC Davis, my focus started to shift from ecology to molecular biology and from traditional laboratory techniques to bioinformatic analysis. Unfortunately, I lost my samples to a freezer failure and am all-but-dissertation. After leaving UC Davis, I worked as an informal science educator at a science museum and as a community college biology instructor. I then worked as a research assistant at a cancer research center, where I studied how a virus in the herpes family regulates the expression of a certain protein. I am currently taking a break from lab work while my body recovers from surgery. I am considered returning to school for an MBA or a PhD in Bioinformatics and pursuing a career in biotechnology.