{"664036":{"#nid":"664036","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Breanna Shi Awarded Advanced Graduate Ambassadorship","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ias.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInstitute for Advanced Study (IAS)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Erecently awarded Georgia Tech Bioinformatics Graduate Program Ph.D. student Breanna Shi the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ias.edu\/math\/wam\/about\/ambassador\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvanced Graduate Ambassadorship\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E from their \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ias.edu\/math\/wam\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWomen and Mathematics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E program. As part of this award, Shi will organize a workshop to address equity by using her math background to help other underrepresented graduate students across \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s College of Sciences\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003Elearn and apply math and computational methods in their research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAssociate Professor of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBiological Sciences\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and Biological Sciences Graduate Committee Chair \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/ingeborg-schmidt-krey\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIngeborg Schmidt-Krey\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Efirst met Shi during her recruitment into the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bioinformatics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBioinformatics (BINF) Ph.D. program\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, which is directed by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/king-jordan\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProfessor King Jordan\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and is one of five Ph.D. programs and two M.S. programs\u0026nbsp; in the School of Biological Sciences at Tech.\u0026nbsp;Shi impressed Schmidt-Krey during her second semester as an engaged student \u0026mdash; particularly in research ethics discussions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Bree\u0026rsquo;s background in mathematics coupled with her passion for applying mathematical approaches to biological research made her a fantastic match for such an interdisciplinary program,\u0026rdquo; said Schmidt-Krey.\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;Bree has a particular interest in using machine learning in her research and making her skills accessible to other students via her symposium, outreach activities, and teaching.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShi first contacted Biological Sciences Associate Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/patrick-mcgrath\u0022\u003EPatrick McGrath\u003C\/a\u003E about coming to Georgia Tech to join the Bioinformatics program. \u0026ldquo;With her mathematical background and interest in genomics, I thought that she would be a great match for this program and Georgia Tech in general,\u0026rdquo; McGrath said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Now in her second year, Breanna is fully participating in our lab\u0026rsquo;s research,\u0026rdquo; he added. \u0026ldquo;She\u0026rsquo;s using her skills in machine learning and computational biology to understand the evolution of behavior in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/science-nature\/mystery-lake-malawi-180971442\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELake Malawi cichlids\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a large flock of species that have evolved a variety of new social behaviors.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchmidt-Krey shared that Shi advocates for graduate students via the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sga.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Student Government Association (SGA)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, is working towards the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ctl.gatech.edu\/content\/tech-teaching-0\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETech to Teaching\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Ecertificate in preparation for her plans to become a professor, participates in several underrepresented minority recruitment activities, and is an instructor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.vip.gatech.edu\/#\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVIP program\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, where she will involve undergraduates from various backgrounds in her research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Bree is currently supported by a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gemfellowship.org\/gem-fellowship-program\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGEM Fellowship\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Eand\u0026nbsp; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/gaann-biosci#:~:text=Graduate%20Assistance%20in%20Areas%20of,residents%20with%20demonstrated%20financial%20need.\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGAANN\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Eaward.\u0026nbsp;Bree\u0026#39;s symposium impressively shows a second-year Ph.D. student\u0026#39;s initiative and commitment to equity in our community.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShi has also been awarded the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/stemfellowships.org\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGraduate Fellowship for STEM Diversity (GFSD)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ceed.gatech.edu\/grad-rise#:~:text=The%20Graduate%20Retaining%20Inspirational%20Scholars,nontraditional%20technology%20and%20engineering%20students.\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGraduate Retaining Inspirational Scholars in Technology and Engineering (Grad RISE) \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003Efrom Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ceed.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECenter for Engineering Education and Diversity (CEED)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Bree\u0026rsquo;s research includes looking for particular neurons in the brain that are activated during reproductive behaviors,\u0026rdquo; said McGrath, who is now Shi\u0026rsquo;s advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMcGrath added that Shi is also passionate about using new technologies to study aggression behaviors, simulating virtual fish to induce and learn from aggressive behaviors in other fish.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECurrently overseeing a large group of undergraduate and master\u0026rsquo;s students, Shi is also passionate about mentorship, adding that she became interested in education research through her time with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ctl.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Center for Teaching and Learning\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;While I was initially nervous about having her overseeing so many students so early in her career, Breanna has really done an outstanding job of overseeing this group,\u0026rdquo; McGrath shared. \u0026ldquo;Her goal is to become an academic professor, so it\u0026#39;s great to see her display these skills. I am very proud of what Breanna has accomplished in such a short time.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShi\u0026rsquo;s mentorship will continue with the IAS workshop. \u0026ldquo;[The workshop] will be a partnership with Christin Salley, a third year Ph.D. student in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECivil Engineering\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E who is also a GEM fellow,\u0026rdquo; Shi said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Our hope is to get graduate students interested in using mathematics and computer science into their research,\u0026rdquo; Shi said. \u0026ldquo;As diversity fellows, Christin and I are making it a priority to\u0026nbsp; include students from diverse groups and to facilitate mentoring.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThey also hope to provide a collaborative environment where students can network and learn. \u0026ldquo;Our goal is to host this event annually,\u0026rdquo; Shi added.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShi, who has two degrees in mathematics, has been interested to understand why some students find math and computer sciences (CS) difficult to master. She hopes to employ a few non-traditional techniques that will allow students to feel less resistant and more understanding of the subjects. \u0026ldquo;We hope to provide greater outcomes for the participants than their past experiences with math and CS.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) recently awarded Georgia Tech Bioinformatics Graduate Program Ph.D. student Breanna Shi the Advanced Graduate Ambassadorship from their Women and Mathematics program. As part of this award, Shi will organize a workshop to address equity by using her math background to help other underrepresented graduate students across Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s College of Sciences learn and apply math and computational methods in their research.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) recently awarded Georgia Tech Bioinformatics Graduate Program Ph.D. student Breanna Shi the Advanced Graduate Ambassadorship from their Women and Mathematics program. "}],"uid":"34528","created_gmt":"2022-12-21 19:20:33","changed_gmt":"2023-03-02 19:39:02","author":"jhunt7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-12-20T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2022-12-20T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"664037":{"id":"664037","type":"image","title":"Breanna Shi","body":null,"created":"1671650672","gmt_created":"2022-12-21 19:24:32","changed":"1671650672","gmt_changed":"2022-12-21 19:24:32","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251370","name":"2022 12 Breanna Shi - bioinformatics phd student.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2022%2012%20Breanna%20Shi%20-%20bioinformatics%20phd%20student.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2022%2012%20Breanna%20Shi%20-%20bioinformatics%20phd%20student.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1418945,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2022%2012%20Breanna%20Shi%20-%20bioinformatics%20phd%20student.jpg?itok=TAomXFl4"}},"664038":{"id":"664038","type":"image","title":"Breanna Shi presents her work at the 2022 Bioinformatics New Student Orientation.","body":null,"created":"1671650714","gmt_created":"2022-12-21 19:25:14","changed":"1671650765","gmt_changed":"2022-12-21 19:26:05","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251371","name":"2022 12 Breanna Shi - bioinformatics.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2022%2012%20Breanna%20Shi%20-%20bioinformatics.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2022%2012%20Breanna%20Shi%20-%20bioinformatics.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1730604,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2022%2012%20Breanna%20Shi%20-%20bioinformatics.jpg?itok=0h_Psrtt"}}},"media_ids":["664037","664038"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192259","name":"cos-students"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"191782","name":"Breanna Shi"},{"id":"2546","name":"bioinformatics"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: Laurie E. Smith, College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEditor and Contact: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E, College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jess@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}