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I am a teacher at Andover High School where I have been for 5 years. I also teach for Virtual High School, an on-line high school community. I joined the teaching ranks later in my professional life. I have had lots of past lives. When I graduated from BC with a biochemistry degree I went to dental school. Been there, done that!!! I hated every minute. About 8 weeks in, I abandoned the ship. I began working as a Research assistant in a lab at the Beth Isreal Hospital in Boston. I worked with a great young researcher, and since it was just he and I most days, I ended up publishing quite a bit of work. Our primary research focus was renal disease and the effect of Ouabain on kidney cells. We spent 4 years pursuing a gene that did not exist!!!

I then pursued a Ph.D. at Tufts Medical school. I am formally trained as a female reproductive cell biologist. I worked on three knockout mice that all had fertility issues. I spent 6 years at Tufts and finally graduated in 2000. I then did a short post-doc at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute working in yeast genetics. After that I went to work for Incyte Genomics a protein database company. I was a scientific editor.

Then, finally I decided on teaching....Life has never been the same. I think if I had to describe one thing about myself, I would say that getting a PhD trains one to be a problem solver. I am a big picture person. I think the most important thing you can do is to always feel comfortable saying "I do not know". We all have strengths and it is important to focus on your personal strengths and keep moving forward!!!