Sheri Sanders Associate Professor of the Practice

Academic Interests

My academic interests lie at the intersection of biology and computational science. With a background rooted in biological sciences and a passion for data-driven problem solving, my work has increasingly brought me into the world of high throughput computing (HPC) while still keeping one foot in the realm of cutting-edge biological research. Bioinformatics is a bridge between these two communities and has become an increasing critical skill for biologists.

At the National Center for Genome Analysis Support (NCGAS), I worked to support genomic researchers by helping navigate the cyberinfrastructure landscape, managing software, developing innovative workflows, and providing multi-modal training for the national community. Additionally, I was able to collaborate on a diversity of projects at different kinds of institutions with researchers on a spectrum of experience. Working with researchers all over the country inspired my desire to develop robust academic programming that bridges the gap between biology and computational science, fostering a community of technically competent researchers with a deep understanding of biological principles.

Now that I am back at Notre Dame, I hope to work with researchers and students to extract deeper insights from their data, get through analyses faster, and inspire more collaboration between departments leveraging bioinformatics.

Biography 

• Associate Professor of the Practice, Bioinformatics (Uni. Notre Dame), 2023 - present
• Associate Director of Bioinformatics, GBCF (Uni. Notre Dame), 2023 - present
• Bioinformatic Consultant (Independent), 2022 - 2023
• Director, National Center for Genome Analysis Support (Indiana University), 2020-2022
• Cert. Data Science (Indiana University), 2018
• Education Lead, National Center for Genome Analysis Support (Indiana University), 2017-2020
• Bioinformatic Analyst, National Center for Genome Analysis Support (Indiana University), 2016 -2022
• Ph.D. Research, University of Notre Dame Biological Sciences, 2016
• M.S. Research, University of Texas at Tyler Biology, 2010
• B.S. Environmental Science and Management, Michigan State University, 2007
• B.S. Zoology, Michigan State University, 2006

Selected Professional Activities:

• Sigma Xi, Full Member, 2022
• XSEDE Domain Expert, 2017-2020
• Arthur J. Schmitt Presidential Fellowship, 2011-2015
• Global Linkages of Biology, the Environment, and Society (GLOBES) Fellowship, 2010