I graduated from Georgia Tech in December of 2011, and my first (and current) position after graduation from GT was as an ORISE Fellow, completing an educational post-bacceaulaureate fellowhip within the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Newborn screening programs are public health entities which serve to screen newborn babies for the presence of many different heritable disorders within their first few days of life. The NSQAP program serves as a quality control and proficiency testing resource for state public health as well as private NBS programs. My responsibilities within this program involve the management of the congenital hypothyroidism program; very briefly, this entails production of dried blood spot QC & PT CH materials, their testing and statistical analysis, and subsequent dissemination to NBS programs.
My goal for the immediate future is to complete a Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology doctorate program in graduate school at the conclusion of my ORISE Fellowship.
After accepting my current fellowship, I was worried and hesitant as it involved many skills and tasks I had never done or been exposed to. Though I had no experience with most of the work, I had strong knowledge of the science background of the work and strong lab training itself. This, along with tons of practice mastering new and trying concepts in a short amount of time in GT classes, greatly helped transition into my current position.
Biology is a broad field, and it is important to know just how many different post-graduate options you have. Take advantage of your resources and do not be afraid of the unknown!!! I realize this may be a frustrating answer to those who value more concrete answers. I completely agree, and it is hard to seek answers to questions that you may not know to ask. In more literal terms, if you need help, ask questions. If you have an idea or an interest but are not sure how to make it happen, ask questions. If you need to make important decisions and are seeking options or need advice, ask questions. If you don’t receive an answer that suits you the first time, continue asking questions. GT is a goldmine of resources, perspectives, and experiences; anything you need is abundant and readily available and you will thank yourself for seeking it out.
