About

Nice to meet you - I'm Sierra

I currently live in Dallas, Texas with my husband, Jesse.

I've been working in biotech for over 5 years, and have done everything from benchtop research to building project and data management systems.

I'm looking for remote or Dallas-based roles. I love startups, biotech, and genome engineering, and am passionate about data integrity and documentation.

Jesse and Sierra on a bridge in front of the vibrantly blue Kawarau River.

Education

B.S. Biological Engineering

Utah State University | May 2021

Emphasis in Synthetic Biology | Minor in Entrepreneurship | Undergraduate Research Fellow

Graduated summa cum laude, with Honors Question mark symbol | 3.97 GPA

Engineer in Training (EIT) Certification

Fundamentals of Engineering Exam - Other Disciplines | September 2020

Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA)

SolidWorks CAD Design Associate Exam | October 2018

Project Management Certifications

Lean Yellow Belt | October 2024

Six Sigma White Belt | October 2024

Certification verifications can be seen here.

Work History

Sound Agriculture (Startup) | June 2021 - April 2024

Process Engineer | July 2022 - April 2024

  • Led the scale-up of research operations from 5 to 40+ concurrent experiments by working with Research leadership to monitor workflow capacity, identify process inefficiencies, and optimize team member contributions.
  • Enhanced communication and project status tracking by designing and implementing a Smartsheet- and Asana-based project management system.
  • Standardized experiment data collection across 250+ experiments by creating Google Sheets templates and, later, customizing and onboarding a new Electronic Lab Notebook and Lab Information Management System.
  • Onboarded 30+ current and new Research employees to new project and data management systems, including creating onboarding presentations and writing technical documents to standardize department operations.
  • Worked fully remotely to standardize and enhance Sound's Research operations, including soil adjuvant development and crop epigenetic modification.
  • Role was eliminated due to a company-wide restructure (not performance-based). Letter of Recommendation from manager

Research Associate | June 2021 - July 2022

  • Altered trait expression in 7+ crop types by designing and executing experiments independently, with Sound's internal research team, and with 3+ external partners.
  • Reduced RNA sample loss by up to 75% across 10+ sample types by improving sample preparation for Sound's molecular screening pipeline, including rewriting Sound's RNA Quantification protocol and working with the lab automation team to improve Tecan Fluent performance.
  • Presented experiment results to all company departments, company leadership, and external partners.
  • Helped to create a collection of 30+ unique Arabidopsis mutants by breeding, extracting DNA from, and genotyping thousands of plants.
A grid of small plant sprouts on a square agar plate
Glowing DNA bands on an agarose gel
Trays of green plants bearing bright red cherry tomatoes in a well-lit greenhouse

Quansys Biosciences | February 2019 - May 2021

Research and Development Technician

  • Developed 12+ multiplexed Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) for 6+ customers.
  • Validated performance of up to 13 biomarkers per assay against internal QC standards and customer requirements.
  • Achieved 2 successful company audits within 2 years by helping implement and train staff on a new Quality Management System for SOP version control, ensuring compliance with ISO 13485 and ISO 9001 standards.

Software & Skills

Project Management & Collaboration

  • Smartsheet
  • Asana
  • LucidChart
  • Sharepoint
  • Technical Documentation
  • Agile Methodology
  • Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) Cycle
  • Resource Allocation
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Slack

Data Science & Scripting

  • Git & Github
  • Basic R
  • Basic SQL
  • Python Scripting Question mark symbol
  • Python Notebooks Question mark symbol
  • Python for Data Analysis Question mark symbol
  • Advanced Excel and Google Sheets Question mark symbol
  • GraphPad Prism
  • JMP
  • Basic AWS

Lab & Instrumentation

  • Aseptic Technique
  • Microscopy
  • Genotyping
  • PCR
  • qPCR
  • Lyophilization
  • Assay Development & QC
  • DNA/RNA Extraction
  • DNA/RNA Quantification
  • Electronic Lab Notebooks
  • Lab Information Management Systems
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs)
  • Bacterial Culture
  • Liquid Nitrogen Handling
  • Gel Electrophoresis
  • Library Preparation
  • Tecan Automation
  • Plant Germination and Growth

Other

  • ISO Compliance Question mark symbol
  • SolidWorks

Undergraduate Research

Senior Design Project | Dr. David Britt and Fresenius Medical Care

January 2020 - May 2021

  • Worked as a key member of a team developing a self-disinfecting surface to aid in bacterial load reduction in hemodialysis systems
  • Completed an accompanying Honors Capstone project focused on Project Management
    • Led weekly team meetings
    • Led literature review meetings and organized sources
    • Managed project timeline
    • Communicated project status to stakeholders at Fresenius Medical Care
  • Project results can be seen here.

Synthetic Biology Research Lab | Dr. Charles Miller

September 2015 - May 2016 | August 2018 - October 2019

  • Assisted in culturing and studying bacteria for bioplastics production
  • Analyzed bacterial phenotypes, including measuring optical density and plotting growth curves
  • Maintained stocks of antibiotic agar plates

Biomaterials Undergraduate Lab | Dr. Yu Huang

January 2019 - August 2019

  • Led a team of students seeking to solubilize anti-inflammatory compounds through nanoparticle synthesis
  • Used sonication and lyophilization to create and stabilize curcumin and indigoidine nanoparticles

Hobbies & Interests

Crafts

I love pretty much any craft, but my great-grandma got me hooked on cardmaking. I also love knitting and cross stitch.

Sourdough

I adopted part of my uncle's sourdough starter and have been culturing it since mid-2022. Favorite recipes include sourdough loaves, pizza, and english muffins.

Three loaves of sourdough bread sitting on a kitchen counter

Travel

Strategy Games

Favorites include Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, and Ark Nova.

Miscellaneous Interests

Survivor | Doctor Who | Cooking Competitions | Death Cab for Cutie | Bastille | 80s Music
John Green | Annie Dillard | Stardew Valley | Theatre

Fun Facts

  • My husband is a mortician. I love the irony of being a life science professional married to a death science professional.
  • In middle school my family and I were on The Dog Whisperer. Cesar Milan is a great guy!
  • In high school I worked part-time as an assistant casting director, and even cast a body double for Scarlett Johansson.
  • I'm a State Fair enthusiast and love entering Fair craft competitions. Growing up, I won quite a few ribbons at the Orange Country Fair for cross stitch, clay sculpting, and cake decorating. In 2023 and 2024 I won blue ribbons at the State Fair of Texas for greeting card making.