Assistant High School

Kelly King

Tucson, AZ

*******@*****.*******.*** - 520-***-****

To attain a position in a biological or biochemical-based lab where I can further my skills in experimental

procedures and provide a new, unique outlook to ongoing or future research. I also plan on attending graduate

school in the near future for an MS in an evolutionary biology/genetics-related field. My current studies focus

on Elasmobranch evolution of peripheral sensory system physiology and genetic pathways, reproductive

ecology and post-copulatory sexual selection, and shark adaptive immune system development, biochemistry,

genetics, and physiology as well as potential therapeutic applications to human diseases and cancer; as well

as a focus on proximal evolution of biochemical networks involved in feather pigment expression in the AZ

House Finch.

Authorized to work in the US for any employer

WORK EXPERIENCE

Lab Assistant

University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ - February 2014 to Present

Badyaev Lab (EEB Department, Dr. Alex Badyaev, under Erin Morrison)

Involved in research involving the proximal evolution of biochemical pathways which control the expression

of dietary carotenoids into feather pigments in the Arizona House Finch during molt.

Responsibilities include extracting the carotenoids from pigmented feathers, running through HPLC, analyzing

the HPLC peak printouts, entering data in a mass spreadsheet, building presence/absence networks for

target chemicals, constructing biochemical networks based off presence/absence networks, determining color

concentration, hue, and intensity of feather color of bird, and comparison of color, age, and biochemical network

to observe any changes across an individual’s lifetime.

Volunteer Research Assistant

Bureau of Land Management - Tucson, AZ - May 2013 to July 2013

Responsibilities

Bureau of Land Management (Jeff Sims, under Scott Boling)

Sampled endangered fish and invasive species populations as well as tested freshwater pond chemistry

fluctuations (time of day, before and after monsoons) to see the effect of changing water chemistry on local

population fitness.

Habitat reparation to preserve endangered species from invasive species, or from potentially destructive

human interference.

EDUCATION

BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

University of Arizona

May 2015

Diploma

University High School

May 2010

SKILLS

Offer a unique way to approach topics of research, develop hypotheses, and how to proceed with following

experiment(s). Very comfortable in a lab environment and performing relevant experimental procedures.

Familiar with a myriad of common lab procedures, equipment, and protocols. Learn unfamiliar experimental

protocol quickly and efficiently to be able to proceed with the procedure on my own-or delegate responsibilities

among members of a team. Punctual and come to work with knowledge of current task-at-hand. Passion for

the research project that I am devoting my time to, as well as finding a way to get others interested in the topic

of research without much knowledge on the subject.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LAB SKILLS

(Relevant Coursework at U of A)

Recombinant DNA Methods and Applications, Evolution of Animal Form and Function, Ichthyology, Genetics,

Population Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Oceanography, Animal Brain, Science, Sex, and Sociology,

Ecology, Biostatistics, Animal Anatomy and Physiology, Species Diversity, Microbial Diversity, Organic

Chemistry

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

High Liquid Performance Chromatography (HPLC) to analyze extracted carotenoids from feathers

HPLC printout analysis of peaks/target products

Feather washing and extraction of carotenoids from pigmented part of feather for HPLC analysis

Building biochemical networks depicting chemical changes from a dietary carotenoid into a chemical pigment

expressed in feathers

Preparation of required reagents and buffers using designated protocols

Transformation of gene sequences into E. coli via a plasmid vector

PCR amplification/check-PCR confirmation of product

Isolation of bacterial/yeast clones using restriction enzyme digests and ligations

Environmental Stress Response (ESR) experiments

GFP-tagging of genes and using secondary antibodies to bind GFP; used in Western Blot for

immunofluorescence visualization under IR light (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method)

Agarose Gel Electrophoresis, Flow Cytometry, Western Blot, and SDS-PAGE analysis

Reverse transcription of mRNA into cDNA

Isolation/purification of cDNA for microarray analysis

Nutrient Deprivation experiments with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and nitrate analysis of freshwater ponds

Genetic sequencing using the Sanger method and bioinformatics

Various purification and product identification techniques performed in a chemistry lab (e.g. crystallizations,

HPLC, condensations, hydrations, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography (GC),centrifuge/centrivac

use, etc)

DATA ANALYSIS AND SOFTWARE SKILLS

Microsoft Excel: compiling years of previous data and current data (from HPLC printouts, Finch color,

biochemical networks, and carotenoid presence/absence) into larger datasets for analysis and research paper

write-up; creating graphs, performing correlational calculations with values of interest using Excel functions,

and use of multiple methods to illustrate results of experimentation

Microsoft Word: writing research papers and/or consolidating main ideas or results from larger acquired

datasets

Microsoft Powerpoint: creating presentations for research proposals and experimental findings

Cytoscape: to build biochemical pathways

SigmaScan Pro: to analyze feather color concentration, hue, and intensity

Adobe Photoshop

Java TreeView: analyze microarray data by viewing up- and down-regulation of target genes in response to

stress

4Peaks and FinchTV: analyze and identify sequenced genes by comparison with known sequences

Protein and Nucleotide BLAST (basic local alignment search tool)

Correlating gene regulation in response to stress with overall function in an organism and with other genetic

pathways

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