Scientific Program Analysts

Sarah is excited to join NHGRI supporting the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) and impacts of genomic variation of function (IGVF) programs. She recently graduated from Christopher Newport University with a BS in Biochemistry and minors in Spanish and Leadership Studies. At CNU, she performed research subcloning gfp and BA0150 into pENTR for Gene-expression studies. She also interned at a molecular biology lab in Costa Rica where she researched the underlying causes of various forms of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and the experiences of patients with this condition. She is passionate about rare genetic disease research and hopes to continue her education in individualized genomics and health in graduate school.

Afia is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting the Impact of Genetic Variation on Function (IGVF) program. She recently graduated from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC with a B.S. in Biology. During her time at Catholic, she conducted research on HLH-8, a bHLH transcription factor, in the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. She plans on pursing her interests in genomic medicine, rare genetic diseases and biomedical ethics in graduate school. 

Jake is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting H3Africa, dGTEx, Comparative Genomics, and the GWAS catalog. He is a recent graduate of the University of Montana in Missoula, MT with a BS in Biology, a BS in Microbiology, and a minor in Biochemistry. During his time at the University of Montana, he leveraged phylogenetics to discover the origin of nitrogen fixation genes in strains of the cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina, and comparative genomics techniques to study cyanobacteria near the thermal limits of life in Yellowstone National Park.

Zo is excited to support NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst for the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) and the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) program. They previously worked on the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research (CSER) program, the International HundredK+ Cohorts Consortium (IHCC), and the Impact of Genomic Variation on Function (IGVF) program. They are a recent graduate of Barnard College in New York, NY with a BA in Archaeology and Biology. 

Vanessa is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting the Division of Extramural Operations. She has a diverse educational background encompassing an MPH in Epidemiology and a BS in Health Administration from George Mason University. She has spent the last 6 years in a range of healthcare roles, spanning both clinical and administrative spheres. She is passionate about utilizing the power of research and medical knowledge to drive significant changes that target health disparities in our communities, and to foster positive transformation that leads us to achieving health equity.

Ben is excited to join NHGRI supporting the Technology Development and Small Business programs, as well as Clinical Trials Oversight Group. He comes from the Biopharmaceutical industry where he spent time manufacturing life-saving medicines and troubleshooting the production process. While working, he also completed his M.S. in Biotechnology with a specialty in Biotechnology Management and holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland. His interests lie in drug development, drug accessibility, and helping further the goals of NHGRI by participating in projects that improve our knowledge of medicine and help increase research efforts.

Sara is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting The GREGoR Consortium, The Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS), The Human Genome Reference Program (HGRP), and The Genome Sequencing Program (GSP). She graduated from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA this past May with a BS in Cellular, Molecular, and Physiological Biology, a BA in Leadership Studies, and a minor in Spanish. During her time at Christopher Newport University, she was a part of the leadership team in their Center for Academic Success and managed the cohort of Science Tutors while tutoring Chemistry herself.

Sarah is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), the Computational Genomics and Data Science Program (CGDS), and the Genetic Counseling RFA. She is a recent graduate of Georgetown University with a BS in Biology and a minor in Cognitive Science. At Georgetown, she advanced a smoking cessation counseling program for cancer patients and a trial evaluating cascade genetic testing for hereditary cancer. She is passionate about the implementation of genomic medicine and hopes to pursue genetic counseling in the future.

Amber supports the Extramural Training Team program. She recently graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and molecular biology. She is interested in genetic epidemiology and health disparities.

Nick is excited to join the NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting the Computational Genomics and Data Science program (CGDS) along with the GWAS Catalog. He recently graduated from the University of Montana with a B.S. in biology, concentrating in genetics and evolution, and a minor in psychology. Prior to joining the NHGRI, he worked with the US Forest Service in the eDNA program, utilizing environmental DNA to assist in the survey of rare and invasive wildlife. He has a strong interest in the intersection of genomics with data science and hopes to pursue a higher education in bioinformatics.

Jahnavi is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst for the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network, the Genomic Medicine Working Group (GMWG), and Advancing Genomic Medicine Research (AGMR). She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a BS in Biology and a minor in English. She is interested in scientific communication and plans to pursue a career in medicine.

Madji is excited to join NHGRI as the Scientific Program Analyst supporting the Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) program. She graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with her B.S. in Translational Life Science Technology on the Bioinformatics Track. During her time at UMBC, she interned at a molecular biology lab where she studied the effects of COVID-19 by inducing HTB-182 cells and investigating the expression of the protein CCL19. She has an interest in computational genomics and plans on pursuing higher education in Bioinformatics.

Nick is excited to join the NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting the Financial and Strategic Planning System (FSPS) and International HundredK+ Cohorts Consortium (IHCC). He comes from NCI as a clinical data manager, abstracting data from hematologic malignancy and chronic graft-versus-host disease clinical trials and working with related databases and reporting software. He graduated from the George Washington University with a BA in Biology and the Duke University School of Medicine with a Master of Health Sciences and physician assistant certificate of completion. He is a physician assistant by training.

Weini is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst for the Training, Diversity, and Health Equity Office (TiDHE), Phenotypes and Exposures Toolkit (PhenX), and Advancing Genomic Medicine Research (AGMR). She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BS in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She has a strong interest in addressing health disparities and advancing health equity through the integration of technology and promoting diversity in genomics research.

Colette is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting the AnVIL Program and other activities of the NHGRI Office of Genomic Data Science (OGDS). She is a recent graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, MN with a BA in Statistics. During her time at Carleton, she worked as a Statistical Consultant and conducted research on double strand break repair with CRISPR and on the use of machine learning to identify predictors of cell sex from transcriptome data. She is especially interested in genomics and the use of statistical tools to better understand biological data.

Alessandra is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst supporting the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) and the Centers of Excellence in Genomic Sciences (CEGS) program. She graduated from California State University, Northridge with a BA in Biology. At CSUN, she was awarded the NIH BUILD PODER Scholar Award and conducted research isolating and characterizing the FOXR1 promoter region. She recently interned as a genetic counseling assistant for a team of genetic counselors specialized in preimplantation genetic testing. She has a strong interest in genomic medicine, bioinformatics, and the intersection of computational science with personalized medicine.

Maya VanZanten is excited to join NHGRI supporting the Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) and Knockout Mouse Phenotyping Program (KOMP2). She is a recent graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, with a B.S. in Biology, Cell and Molecular Emphasis. Maya brings a strong background in scientific communication and education from her experiences as a science museum educator and undergraduate teaching assistant for biology lecture and laboratory courses. She is interested in clinical genomics, rare diseases, promoting health equity, and encouraging diversity in scientific research.

Riley is excited to join NHGRI as a Scientific Program Analyst for Molecular Phenotypes of Null Alleles in Cells (MorPhiC), Polygenic Risk Methods in Diverse Populations (PRIMED), and Multi-Omics. She recently graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA with a BS in Systems Biology. During her time at Virginia Tech, she helped develop novel techniques for bacteriophage classification of the order Caudovirales under the Aylward Lab. She will continue pursuing her interests in genomic data science and personalized genomic medicine in graduate school.