Q: What do you do at the Laboratory?

A: The short answer is that I oversee two mouse rooms with 1,300 mouse model strains available for distribution in the repository. We are also working to characterize 300 more strains donated by outside investigators, preparing detailed genetic and physiological profiles of each of them so they are ready to distribute to outside researchers.

Q: How did you prepare for your career?

A: I completely fell into mouse husbandry. I didn't even like science in school and got my undergraduate degree in special education. But I didn't want to teach, so after I moved from Pennsylvania to Maine in the early 1990s I came here looking for a job, any job. I started as an entry-level production worker in the mouse rooms in 1994. I was able to take advantage of the education and employment opportunities the Laboratory offers and have been fortunate to advance to my current position.

Q: What do you like most about your work?

A: I like the challenge. No two days are the same. You find surprises in donated strains, genetic anomalies and unexpected phenotypes [measurable physical traits], and it is exciting to make strains useful for research available for distribution. Plus I'm a breast cancer survivor and went through a clinical trial, so I feel the Laboratory's mission to improve human health is crucial-it's important for me to contribute to it.

Q: What are your outside interests?

A: I mostly enjoy family time. My daughters are nine and four, and I love living on the island with its close-knit community, where it's easy to get to know people at your child's soccer games. We also try to get outside a lot and enjoy how beautiful it is.

Q: So is it safe to say you won't move back to Pennsylvania?

A: Yes! On top of everything else my husband is a commercial lobsterman. [Laughs] There's not much demand for that in Philadelphia.