Isabella Childers
Current Institution: Clemson University
Hometown: Greenville, SC
Fields of Interest:
Bioinformatics and Genomics
Conservation & Population Genetics
Medical Genetics- Human and Animal
When and how did you realize that you wanted to study Genetics?
When I was in my high school biology course, my teacher played the movie, Lorenzo’s Oil, which is about two parents trying to search for a cure for their son’s adrenoleukodystrophy. After I watched the movie, I decided I wanted to pursue science to help people like Lorenzo. I soon came to love genetics in my upper high school biology courses after learning more about their intricacies, how they can affect animal and human health and their impact on evolution.
Why did you choose the Genetics PhD program at A&M?
I choose this program because I was interested in the interdisciplinary aspects of it. My main focus is bioinformatics and genomics, but I like that there is different avenues to pursue and integrate like population genetics or medical genetics.
If you were free to choose anything, what research question/topic would you like to address for your graduate studies?
I would want to research how mobile elements have affected the genome of humans and non-human animals.
Fun Facts:
What would be your dream job after graduation from the program?
My dream job after graduation is to go into industry. I want to use bioinformatics in some sort of fashion in order to solve problems.
Favorite place you have travelled to.
My favorite place that I have traveled to was Budapest, Hungary. I studied abroad to Wrocław, Poland in Summer 2019 but took a weekend trip to Budapest with a couple of my peers. I didn’t know much about the city beforehand but loved it after I visited!
