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Rachel Rodgers

Rachel Rodgers

bioinformaticist

Washington University School of Medicine

Technologies

My Portfolio Highlights

My New Course

Introduction to R

My New Track

R Programming

Data guardian, protecting the integrity and privacy of valuable information.

My Work

Take a look at my latest work.

course

Introduction to the Tidyverse

course

Introduction to R

course

Intermediate R

DataCamp Course Completion

Take a look at all the courses I’ve completed on DataCamp.

My Work Experience

Where I've interned and worked during my career.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis | Sep 2017 - Present

Bioinformaticist

Develop and maintain bioinformatic pipelines for the analysis of various NGS data including 16S bacterial microbiome and virome data, RNA-seq, CRISPR, viral sequencing as well other 'omic data sets. Design analysis and visualization tools to help researchers explore and understand their data. Heavy usage of the R language including R Shiny applications, static and interactive R Markdown documents, and object-oriented programming with S4 in general. Frequent usage of bash/CLI including writing bash scripts for cluster computing. Occasional Linux administrative tasks (running/managing RShiny server and software installation for multi-user access). Occasional use of Python. Employ and encourage the adoption of coding standards and code management tools to increase transparency and reproducibility of workflows including git and Snakemake. Specific interest in researchers' accessibility to data via interactive interfaces and thorough documentation of analyses. Competencies: CLI, bash, R (Markdown/Shiny)
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Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis | Feb 2017 - Aug 2017

Research Assistant

N/A

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Jan 2015 - May 2017

Graduate Student

Generated novel molecular phylogeny of several species of killifish (Cyprinodontiformes) starting from raw RNA-seq data.

Unilever | Oct 2013 - Jul 2014

Front Line Manager

Oversee daily production and team of union employees, ensuring compliance with safety requirements and established processes. Provide ongoing coaching to support team in adjusting to changes. Collaborate cross- functionally to address and resolve engineering, quality, safety, and maintenance issues. Conduct and report on daily safety and quality inspections. Key Contributions: • Established “SMART” goals to improve team engagement and job ownership while enhancing communication and trust. • Recommended and received approval for streamlined near-miss report form to improve relationships, boost confidence in incident reporting, and increase safety.

BASF | Mar 2012 - Apr 2013

Team Leader

Supervised team of up to seven union operators handling daily production activities in food-grade manufacturing plant; prepared schedules, allocated resources, and facilitated cross-training. Planned and coordinated maintenance activities to minimize production interruptions. Requested contractors to improve / repair equipment and facilities. Reviewed and approved operator notifications, daily work plans, and costs. Permitted hot work, confined space, elevated, and other hazardous work conducted by internal and contracted staff. Performed root cause analysis to investigate and report safety and quality issues. Collaborated cross-functionally with engineers, operators, planners, and maintenance to resolve production issues. Presented weekly safety updates for department operators. Adhered to GMP standards and policies. Key Contributions: • Successfully managed maintenance costs and adjusted work schedules to consistently end month below forecasted budget; achieved $4M in savings subsequent to annual site turn-around. • Led reorganization of nine operators in underutilized unit to improve efficiencies and meet production needs in adherence with union contract requirements; facilitated cross-training and organized temporary reassignments to reduce overtime and meet production goals. • Played key role in achieving record annual production of 1200 BUs while finishing 2% under budget. • Cultivated relationships across operating units, drove culture focused on safety and quality, and promptly addressed specific needs and concerns.

Roquette | Jul 2011 - Feb 2012

Production Shift Associate Team Leader

Led 4-member team of union employees and coordinated daily production operations in an FDA-regulated food-grade facility following GMP standards. Scheduled maintenance activities and performed lock-out tag. Tracked wastewater leaving facility; performed troubleshooting to identify material losses (COD) to waste. Collaborated across functional areas to facilitate production and problem solving; advised higher managers of pressing problems. Key Contributions: • Motivated team and acted as stabilizing force in challenging environment; provided effective performance feedback, addressed issues, and consistently met 98-100% of monthly production target. • Monitored and recorded performance of ion exchange chromatography columns to identify discrepancies and correct deviations in regeneration process; increase service lifetime by 10%.

Middle Tennessee State University | Jan 2010 - May 2011

Graduate Assistant, College of Basic & Applied Sciences

microbiology, probability & statistics, and management courses. Performed laboratory research and analysis. Studied molecular structure of chloroplast lipids (MGDG and DGDG) extracted from dinoflagellates in sea anemone hosts. Prepared media following aseptic techniques. Served as Graduate Assistant with College of Basic and Applied Science and Department of Biology. Key Contributions: • Taught microbiology labs to undergraduate students; instructed on equipment operations and proper handling of microorganisms and chemicals. • Supported departments with grant writing and administration, research, writing, and preparation of technical and safety reports. • Co-authored peer-reviewed paper on using machine shop to create engineering projects; accepted for presentation and publication at 2011 American Society for Engineering Education Conference. • Developed detailed safety report for undergraduate moonbuggy design time; won NASA’s 18th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race System Safety Award.

GenHunter Corporation | Jan 2011 - Apr 2011

Intern

Performed critical testing and related procedures for biotechnology company products; provided invaluable insights during product development process. Completed complex construction and subcloning as required for research and production of biologics.

Schlumberger | May 2008 - Aug 2008

Field Engineer Intern

Well Services Division - Well cementing & hydraulic fracturing stimulation treatment (fracking). Performed specialized engineering processes for oilfield services organization, providing support as required to address project requirements. Participated in equipment setup and teardown, collaborating with operators, supervisors and crew to achieve desired outcomes.

My Education

Take a look at my formal education

Master of Science - MS, Biology/Biological Sciences, GeneralSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville | 2017
MS, BiotechnologyMiddle Tennessee State University | 2011
BS, Chemical Engineering (Biochemical Emphasis)University of Missouri-Rolla | 2009
Engineering PhysicsMurray State University | 2006

About Me

Rachel Rodgers

I'm mostly interested in building tools, pipelines, interactive reports and visualizations with R and RShiny.

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