ELIZA KIRSCH
Curriculum Vitae
Education
B.A. in Biology, Occidental College
August 2018 - May 2022
Graduated magna cum laude with a 3.85 GPA and with Distinction on my senior comprehensive project. Awarded the Trustee Scholarship and Dean's List every semester, member of the varsity lacrosse team, Kappa Alpha Theta, Dance Pro, and Boundless Brilliance.
High School Diploma & International Baccalaureate Diploma, Lakewood High School
August 2014 - May 2018
Graduated with a 4.98 GPA and in the top 10% of the class, awarded Dean's List every semester, member of varsity gymnastics, varsity lacrosse, National Honors Society and various volunteering organizations.
Work Experience
Lab Manager & Technician, Moore Laboratory of Zoology
May 2022-Present
In this position, I train and supervise seven undergrads, maintain lab equipment and supplies, and do genomic work for various ongoing projects in the lab. I regularly complete library preparation and target enrichment of UCEs and run a wide range of laboratory equipment including QSonica, Bioanalyzer, CFX96 Real-Time PCR System, and even an Illumina MiSeq. I continue to improve sequencing protocols and safety training through reading existing literature and testing various techniques.
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Moore Laboratory of Zoology
January 2020-May 2022
Performed measurements using calipers on museum specimens to study phenotypic variation in Green Jays. Worked in the genomics lab, performing DNA extractions, UCE library preparation, and sequencing on both muscle tissue and toe pads. Gained experience doing field work involving mist netting, point counts, and the collection of avian blood and feather samples.
Museum Assistant, Children's Museum of Colorado
Camp Instructor, Mad Science of Colorado
May 2019-August 2019
Aided museum guests at science-centered exhibits and helped develop new ideas for educational activities in the outdoor section of the museum.
May 2019-August 2018
Helped lead educational science programs for children aged six to twelve. Responsible for helping develop science-based activities relating to chemistry, earth sciences, and physics.
Skills
Proficiency coding in R and Python
DNA extraction, UCE library prepe and sequencing
Measurement of museum specimens
Species distribution modeling
Analysis of citizen science data (eBird, iNaturalist)
Preparation of avian museum specimens
Spectrophotometry
Computational phylogenetic software (FigTree, BEAST)
Active/passive mist netting and handling of live birds
Funding and Scholarship
Trustee Merit Scholarship ($60,000)
Occidental College, Los Angeles
ASP Conference Travel Grant ($500)
Occidental College, Los Angeles
Federal Employee Education Assistance (FEEA) Merit Grant ($1,000)
2018-2022
2022
2018
Honors and Awards
Distinction on Senior Comprehensive Project
SCIAC All Academic Team
Dean's List
2022
2018-2022
2018-2022
Presentations
2022 Joint Meeting of the American Ornithological Society and Birds Caribbean. San Juan, Puerto Rico. June 29th, 2022. "A phylogeography of Green Jays (Cyanocorax yncas) across Mesoamerica"
Outreach and Mentorship
Co-founder and Vice President of the Ornithology Club (Occidental College)
Mentorship of students including Alisa Dittemore, Mason Lynch, Allison Muhlheim and Jasmine Webber on DNA extraction through sequencing
2021-2022
2021-present
References
John McCormack, P.h.D
Director and Curator of the Moore Laboratory of Zoology; Associate Professor, Biology
1600 Campus Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Relationship: Supervisor, research advisor and former professor
Gretchen North, P.h.D
John W. McMenamin Endowed Chair in Biology
1600 Campus Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Relationship: Research advisor, former professor
Beth Braker, P.h.D
Biology Professor
1600 Campus Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Relationship: Former professor
Ryan Terrill, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher, Moore Laboratory of Zoology
1600 Campus Rd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Relationship: Supervisor, research advisor
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Contact
2142 Ridgeview Ave, Los Angeles CA 90041
7204370937
Pronouns: she/her/hers