About Me

I have a Hon.B.Sc. in Biological Chemistry from the University of Toronto, a M.Sc. in Bioinformatics from the University of Guelph, and a Ph.D. in Applied Statistics from McMaster University. My graduate studies focused on nutrigenomics, which is the interaction between diet and genes. More specifically, I focused on microarray analysis and developed model-based clustering methods for gene expression data using the R statistical programming language. The end-goal was to identify biomarkers (a gene or a set of genes) that could predict various aspects of health and disease.

Teaching Interests

I am passionate about Bioinformatics, which is a field that can be thought of as the collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpretation of the vast amounts of biological data that are becoming increasingly rapidly available due to advances in technology. It is an interdisciplinary field encompassing the biological sciences, the statistical sciences, and computer science, and thus requires effective communication across those fields and also to the general public. Because of my varied background and my experience with the interdisciplinary nature of Bioinformatics, my teaching interest at the undergraduate level has developed into the effective teaching of statistics to non-statistics majors. I strive to exhibit and pass on my excitement and passion for the subject in the classroom. I currently teach NATS1500 Statistics and Reasoning in Modern Society and am a sessional faculty member in the Department of Math & Stats.

Outside of York

I also teach quantitative courses (statistics, bioinformatics, and mathematics) at Seneca Polytechnic in the School of Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry. When I am not working, I enjoy being physically active, with running and volleyball (beach and court) as my go-to activities.

Sub-Discipline

Bioinformatics

Research Areas

UN Goals