One Day, One Job » genetics

Ancestry.com

Willy Franzen — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:01:11 +0000

Since we celebrated National Pancake Day yesterday, we’re not going to make a big deal about Leap Day, but if you’re looking for a leapy post, you may want to read our profiles on LeapFrog and TicketLeap. Instead of the calendar, we’re going to talk about family history. I’m lucky in that my family has done a great job of documenting our history. One of the best stories from my family’s past is about William Ker Muir (my Great Great Great Grandfather), who at 24 left his homeland of Scotland to take a job in Canada’s burgeoning railroad industry. Four years later in 1859, he was riding in the last seat of the last car on a train from Toronto to Hamilton. He heard a crash at the front of the train and jumped out the back door. He landed safely on the track as the Desjardins Bridge collapsed and the train fell into an icy gorge killing or injuring most of the passengers and crew. Without those quick reflexes, I wouldn’t be here. It’s stories like those that make investigating genealogy worthwhile, and if you’re going to do that, online tools like those provided by Provo, UT based Ancestry.com can be a huge help. It’s “the world’s largest online resource for family history, with more than 1.7 million paying subscribers around the world.”

Know Your History

Because of its name, you may think of Ancestry.com as some tech startup. While they have certainly taken their business in that direction (Software as a Service), they were actually founded in 1983 as Ancestry Publishing with a “focus on publishing genealogical book and magazine titles.” They’ve obviously used what they’ve learned by studying genealogy to help them adapt their business to changing times. Having been around for nearly three decades is a huge advantage for Ancestry.com in that they have compiled a ton of information (over 8 billion historical records), but what’s even more important is the network effect that they’ve created. As more and more users submit information to the site, it becomes more useful for everyone. This encourages more people to join, and the network effect keeps growing in a virtuous cycle. That’s why Ancestry.com has more than “31 million family trees and [has] added over 4 billion profiles.” They’re working on adding DNA tests, and I have to imagine that will be a huge step forward for the product. If you’re loving what Ancestry.com is all about, then head over to their Jobs page. Right now they have some great opportunities for new grads including:

Assistant Genealogist (Salt Lake City, UT)
Associate Software Engineer (Provo, UT or San Francisco, CA)
Document Preservation – Contractor (Swarthmore, PA)
Document Preservation – Contractor (Worcester, MA)
iOS Developer
Marketing Coordinator (Provo, UT or San Francisco, CA)
Inside Sales & Account Specialist (Salt Lake City, UT)
AppOps Engineer (Provo, UT)

If history is important to you, then a job with Ancestry.com might be just what you’re looking for.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried Ancestry.com?

Synthetic Genomics

Willy Franzen — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:31:40 +0000

When I think of the energy industry, I think of big machines like oil drills, windmills, and coal elevators. Microbes and genetics just don’t come to mind. Synthetic Genomics is a company that is aiming to change that. Energy is just one of the industries that they are working to disrupt as they develop “breakthrough genomic-driven solutions for major global issues.” Right now Synthetic Genomics, which is based in La Jolla, CA, has put a heavy emphasis on working with the energy and chemical industries because there is so much potential for gain–especially in terms of the environment; however, they’re also working on things like food production, human health, and water availability. It’s all about “turning novel science into life-changing solutions.”

Synthetic Opportunities

Obviously commercialization is a key concern for Synthetic Genomics–they need to develop technologies that can actually make money, but they seem to have decided that fixing some of the world’s most pressing problems will provide plenty of revenue opportunities. Makes sense to me. From what I can tell Synthetic Genomics is really all about developing the technology. Once they have something that is ready for the market, they find partners in the industry to put the technology into action. I wish I could dive deeper into the specifics of what Synthetic Genomics does, but words like “environmental genomics, microbiology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, plant genomics, genome engineering, synthetic biology, and climate change” tell me that I’m in over my head. If you have no problem following along with their What We Do page, then you may want to consider taking a look at their Careers. Right now they’re hiring a Research Associate and a Research Associate – Production R&D. They have a bunch of other positions that require more experience/education, and the only other job that you might want to take a look at is the Business Development Associate position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Synthetic Genomics?

DNAnexus

Willy Franzen — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:29:43 +0000

The idea of having my genome sequenced kind of freaks me out. I’m certainly warming to it, but I don’t like the idea of finding out about a deep, dark family secret or the fact that I’m predisposed to some kind of cancer from a DNA test. I know it’s irrational, and I know that I’ll overcome it eventually. I fully expect that within 20 years every child born in the U.S. will have his or her genome sequenced at birth. So maybe I should just the bite the bullet and get my genome sequenced. But if I’m going to do that, I need your help. The other day I came across a post about Palo Alto, CA based DNAnexus on Hacker News (an awesome site for programmers and people interested in startups). The post was focused on the company’s referral program that offers $20,000 and a full genome sequencing to anyone who refers a software engineer that they hire. That clearly caught my attention (I am trying to run a business here), but, more importantly, it introduced me to what DNAnexus is doing. A single genome contains over 100 gigabytes of data. Storing and analyzing this data requires some serious hardware, especially if you want to do it on a large scale. DNAnexus is an “early-stage software technology company that aims to become the data platform of the genome era.”

You Are the Data

It’s mind blowing when you think about how much data is contained in every single cell of your body. When you multiply that out by the number of people in the world, you realize that computing is going to have to come a long way to be able to be able to crunch all of that data. DNAnexus wants to be the leader by “building the DNA operating system – a platform that will handle the data deluge coming from exponentially increasing whole human genome sequencing.” It’s hard to say what kind of things will be made possible as whole human genome sequencing becomes more common, but you can bet that it will lead to some amazing medical breakthroughs (see their testimonials here). For DNAnexus though, it’s really all about hardware and software breakthroughs. They have built their “infrastructure from the ground up to run on Amazon Web Services, the world’s leading cloud computing provider,” so that they can deliver “computing and storage infrastructure” with 100,000s of CPUs and 100s of petabytes of storage available.

If you’re interested in the intersection of computing technology and genetics, you have to take a look at jobs at DNAnexus. I’m not only saying that because they offer an amazing referral bonus; I really think that they’re doing something that has amazing potential for impact on the human race. DNAnexus is looking to hire Systems Engineers, Security Engineers, Web Services Engineers, Data Visualization and Interaction Engineers, UI/UX Engineers, and Computational Genomics, Algorithms, and Machine Learning Engineer. You can apply for any of these positions on your own if you’d like, but if you want to help support One Day, One Job (and help me overcome my fear of having my genome sequenced) then send me an e-mail to willy@onedayonejob.com with your résumé or LinkedIn profile and I’ll submit it according to the rules of the referral promotion.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you get your genome sequenced?

Genetic Alliance

Willy Franzen — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:53:40 +0000

As humans we must have some innate level of genetics knowledge. We know to look for favorable traits when we search for a reproductive partner, and once we make that choice, we know that our children are supposed to look at least a little bit like us and share some of our traits. That’s why genetic research is so mystifying. It offers the opportunity to know why we are the way we are. Yet, some think that genetic research hasn’t lived up to its billing. I have to agree that it’s extremely disappointing that with all of the genetic knowledge that we’ve gained in the past 20 or so years, it hasn’t helped us cure any major diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or any form of cancer. However, it still seems that plenty of good has come out of genetics research, and there is reason to hope that a lot more is on the way. Genetic Alliance would agree. They’re based in Washington, DC, and they’re “the world’s leading nonprofit health advocacy organization committed to transforming health through genetics and promoting an environment of openness centered on the health of individuals, families, and communities.”

Is It in Your Genes?

There are all kinds of stakeholders when it comes to genetics research—individuals, doctors, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, disease-specific advocacy organizations, government agencies, non-profits, and plenty more. Each group has its own agenda, but all will benefit from advances in genetics research. Genetic Alliance brings them all together as “the voice of advocacy in genetics” with the goal of transforming health. It’s an exciting goal, and hopefully one that will be fruitful. We can’t control how much genetics have to do with our health, but however much it is, we need to find out and learn how to use that information to our advantage. If you’d like to be a part of that mission, then you might want to consider a job at Genetic Alliance. Right now they’re looking for a Grants Administration Coordinator and an Executive Assistant. Take a look at both positions and see if you’ll be a good fit.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Genetic Alliance?

Daughters of the American Revolution

Willy Franzen — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 14:45:14 +0000

Happy Independence Day! (And Happy Birthday Mom!) Today we’re celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Though I’m sure you’re showing your patriotism, chances are that your celebration includes some combination of barbecuing, beach, beer, baseball, and blowing stuff up. The Daughters of the American Revolution take the Fourth of July a little more seriously. They’re a “non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children.” They restrict membership to women “who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution,” so they also happen to be “one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country” with 165,000 members. I’ve seen the DAR march in my town’s Memorial Day parade, but their work goes far beyond making public appearances.

Are You a Daughter of the American Revolution?

The Daughters of the American Revolution is responsible for a ton of volunteer work. They put a big focus on historic preservation, which means that they contribute a lot of money to both the building and restoration of commemoratives and memorials. There’s also a huge focus on patriotic public outreach by doing things like publishing a manual on citizenship, participating in naturalization ceremonies, providing flags and flag codes to organizations and schools, offering services to veterans, and granting patriotic awards like DAR Good Citizenship Medals and the DAR Medal of Honor. The DAR also puts a huge emphasis on promoting and supporting education, while also spending a significant time on genealogy. If you’re impressed by the DAR and want to be a part, you might have to check your bloodlines (and presumably your gender); however, if you want another way in, you could check out jobs at Daughters of the American Revolution. Right now they’re looking for a Temporary Data Entry/Documents Scanning Specialist and a Cataloger Genealogical Researcher. Both positions seem like they could be suitable for new grads, so check out the full descriptions on the DAR Jobs page.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How are you celebrating the Fourth?

23andMe

Willy Franzen — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:00:29 +0000

Most of our readers are high achievers, right? A lot has gone into getting you to this point. Hard work. Great parenting. Good genes. You can argue about it like Mortimer and Randolph Duke in Trading Places, but you’ll never know which of these (or other) factors is truly driving your personal successes – or will you? Today’s company hasn’t figured out the answer to that question yet, but they’re well on their way.

23andMe is a web-based biotechnology firm that specializes in providing personal genetic information. The name 23andMe refers to the 23 pairs of chromosomes that make up each individual’s genome. To clarify what they do: you spit in a cup, send it to them, and for one grand they tell you what your DNA says. That price is probably shocking to many of you – to some it’s an exorbitant amount, and for others it seems like a bargain. You also may be torn on whether this service is the kind of thing you’d ever be interested. Some people want to know all the answers, while others enjoy the mystery of life. Well, for those who don’t need mystery, 23andMe’s reports include four sections: Gene Journal, Ancestry , Family Inheritance, and Genome Labs.

23andMe is the type of company that could instantly blow up, or it might take 10 years for people to get it. If it’s any indication, Wired has named 23andMe one of 10 Startups Worth Watching in 2008. Maybe we’ll be hearing about celebs getting their genes mapped and everyone will have to follow the trend. Either way, getting in at the early stages of a company like this offers the opportunity for an unparalleled experience. If you’re in for the excitement, here’s 23andMe’s job offerings from the three areas of their company: Engineering, Science, and Operations.

Currently they have 2 openings that might intrigue new college grads. In Engineering they are hiring two Web Application Software Engineers. The job description says that they want 2-4 years experience, but then encourages new grads to apply (why would a company do that?). There is also a Science Writer job available that doesn’t require any previous experience. This position looks especially cool, because it requires both extensive technical knowledge and serious writing ability. It’s not for the average college grad, but like we said before, our readers are an especially talented group.

23andMe has a number of other positions that require 2-4 years experience, but those jobs don’t encourage new grads to apply, so we’d assume they’re not appropriate for entry-level job seekers. There are also some great positions for graduates of PhD programs. If you don’t have experience or a PhD, but want to work at 23andMe, do some more research and fill out their General Application.

Note: On April 23rd we revisited entry-level jobs at 23andMe.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Don’t worry, 23andMe won’t check your genes as part of the interview process.