Joanna Kelley
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Washington State University
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I grew up in sunny California with a mathematician father and a biologist mother.
I decided I wanted to go elsewhere for college (why?!) so I moved across the country to go to Brown.
I originally wanted to focus on math, but during my sophomore year, I realized I also loved biology.
I realized I could combine my two interests and study the applications of math within biology.
I got my Ph.D. from the University of Washington, then did a postdoc at the University of Chicago.
After completing my first postdoc, I moved back to California to do a second at Stanford University.
I decided to become a professor so I could have the flexibility to conduct my own research.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Santa Cruz High
Santa Cruz High
Career
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
I run a research laboratory - I conduct genomics research, teach, and serve the scientific community.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Science
Education
Accomplishing Goals
Day to Day
If it's a day that I teach, I'll spend time preparing for class by going over my lecture slides and notes. I'll go to class and interact with my students, then head back to my office to read articles and books, conduct online research, analyze data, and check and send a lot of emails. I'll also spend time checking in with my undergraduate and graduate students, as well as with my lab manager. On any given day, I'm a researcher, an educator, a boss—I get to wear many hats and it's a lot of fun.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
You may have a rare opportunity to do research as a high school student and if you do, you should definitely jump on that but most research opportunities will come at the undergraduate level. Start participating during your freshman or sophomore year so that you have extra time to find a lab that's aligned with your research interests. Research, like many careers, is a lot of work, so you want to get into a research lab early so you can make sure research is something that really excites you.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You're in the minority as a woman in mathematics."
Challenges I Overcame
Balancing family and career
