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.
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
| 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
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.
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
- Python Notebooks
- Python for Data Analysis
- Advanced Excel and Google Sheets
- 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
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.
Texas State Fair
September 2023
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.
Travel
Mount Cook
New Zealand, 2022
Milford Sound
New Zealand, 2022
Hobbiton
New Zealand, 2022
Rotorua
New Zealand, 2022
Glenorchy
New Zealand, 2022
Tower Bridge
England, 2023
Harry Potter Studios
England, 2023
Prince's Head Pub
England, 2023
Richmond
England, 2023
Cliffs of Moher
Ireland, 2024
Giant's Causeway
Ireland, 2024
Cahir
Ireland, 2024
Kenmare
Ireland, 2024
Lough Tay
Ireland, 2024
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.