I hold a PhD from the University of Nebraska in Computer Science with a specialty in Bioinformatics; I received my MS from the same university in Computer Science with a focus on Machine Learning. I have co-authored 10 publications and 11 presentations and posters. As my background in computer science deepened, I found myself increasingly drawn to applications in the biomedical field. My interest began with comparative biology and the statistical application of evolution to bio sequences and, later on, the way bioinformatics centered on genomics. That led me to the area of computational toxicology, where I began dealing with big data and how to maximize its value. Following the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I examined the spread of toxins, including carcinogens, to fish populations.