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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Postdoctoral Fellow, Schmidt Science Fellow; Computational Immunology.
Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering. PhD; Biomolecular Engineering.
Oxford University, Faculty of Music. Rhodes Scholar; Master of Studies, Piano Performance.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Double BS; Biological Engineering, Music.
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My experiences are kaleidoscopic, and I am continuously surprised by how they cohere in retrospect.
In undergrad, when I wasn’t working towards a degree in Biological Engineering, I spent much of my free time in practice rooms overlooking Killian Court playing late Beethoven Sonatas, Bach Goldberg Variations, and Brahms Piano Trios. I cherished rehearsing with my chamber music ensembles, and still can’t believe I played Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops.
Taking a detour from science, I read for a master’s in music performance at Oxford University through the support of the Rhodes Scholarship. Having not read a single book at MIT aside from textbooks, I used the time as an opportunity to catch up in the Humanities. Academically, I commuted to London for piano lessons and research. I focused on evaluating music therapy for non-verbal individuals with autism. I studied communication theory and how music, as a boundary object, enables human connection. Extracurricularly, I ran a discussion series bringing together interdisciplinary expert perspectives in the Rhodes community around themes such as cancer genetics, edtech, and climate. I also hosted many a weekend brunch and learned how to poach an egg.
Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops for MIT Tech Night in 2009.
Returning to science, my PhD research focused on designing next-generation vaccines to drive immune responses to target specific virus vulnerabilities. In the contexts of HIV-1 and Dengue virus, this approach aims to selectively elicit protective antibodies and avoid raising antibodies that may run the risk of enhancing disease. I also served as a graduate resident fellow for the South House community, where I organized and led residential programming like taking a dogsledding trip to Maine where I slept in a dogsled in 10℉ (-12℃) weather.
For my postdoctoral research, I pivoted into computational immunology, using high-throughput experimental and computational methods to investigate how adaptive immunity in the form of serum antibodies develops over time during pregnancy and early life, and as a result of pathogen exposure, infection, and vaccination. I also bought copious amounts of butter baking my way through Joanne Chang’s Pastry Love; in a months-long project I baked over 30 different cookie recipes, and delivered the butter bombs to friends across the Boston-Cambridge area as a bright spot during the pandemic. I was lucky that my research and butter budget were supported by Schmidt Science Fellows, a lifelong community of likeminded interdisciplinary scientific leaders.
Dogsledding on Lake Umbagog.
As the first employee at Metaphore Biotechnologies, I started to really appreciate how people and relationships are at the core of what I do. I made the transition away from lab bench and code, recruited and managed a team of protein engineers spanning undergraduate co-op students, PhD interns, research associates, and scientists. I orchestrated collaborations with our computational team, an experience that formed the foundation for how I approach integrating experimental and computational efforts.
Most recently, I was the Scientific Manager for the Center for Integrated Solutions for Infectious Diseases at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where I spent my time thinking about infectious diseases in clinically relevant settings across scales. My role focused on Center-wide programming and communication to define scientific strategy, nucleate interdisciplinary collaborations, and create scientific community from trainees to PIs to accelerate innovative, human-relevant research in infectious diseases. I also continued formulating my views on the data infrastructure that will be required to enable the next epoch of scientific research.
Currently, I am a Technical Program Manager at Generate:Biomedicines where I leverage my expertise in experimental protein engineering and computational sciences to drive progress in generative protein design.
In my free time, I am writing, reconnecting with myself as a musician, learning how to be a patient-scientist, and otherwise trailblazing non-traditional paths to doing interesting and impactful science, all while having fun!
Personally, I love spending time with my family (husband, son, dog Zoe) and the wonderful people in my communities, including our modern day village, Jamaica Plain. I love traveling, eating, and running.
If you’ve read this far, feel free to call me Jenn. 🙂
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Schmidt Science Fellows in Toronto.
Schmidt Science Fellows Conference in Menlo Park.
My favorite race in Stowe, VT.