Category: Jobs

Research Assistant /HTS

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, NASHVILLE, TN, AUGUST 2025 – December 2025 (Part-time)

I returned to Dr. Joshua Bauer’s lab in the Assay Development and High-Throughput Screening (HTS) facility, where I had interned during high school. The work involves operating imaging equipment that evaluates drug effects on cancer cell lines — in this case, Ewing Sarcoma — across tens of thousands of compounds. The techniques are very different from dentistry, but the underlying idea of automated imaging that identifies subtle patterns a human might miss is one I’ve started thinking about in a dental context. Caries detection, soft tissue screening, radiograph interpretation — there is a lot of clinical decision-making that could benefit from the kind of pattern recognition this lab works with every day.

Residential Assistant at Vanderbilt

January 2025 -present

As a Residential Advisor, I support first-year students — responding to emergencies, mediating conflicts, and building community on my floor. The role has genuinely tested me. After a difficult event on my floor this year, I had to inform close friends of the student involved, and I spent real time asking myself whether I could keep doing this work. I decided to continue when I return from Europe. I have requested upper-class housing each cycle and keep getting placed back with first-years, which I have come to accept means the first-year floors are where I am most needed. Campus safety has become a more visible concern this year, with added floor access controls and faster response times from Vanderbilt Police.

Daily Dental

I worked full-time at Daily Dental from July to August 2024 and continued every Saturday throughout the semester. The practice rotates three different dentists across the weekend — which meant adapting quickly to each clinician’s approach, workflow, and expectations. It was the most demanding clinical environment I have worked in, and it taught me how much of dentistry happens in the small handoffs between staff and patients. Seeing dentists commit their weekends to keeping the office open also shaped how I think about access to care. Unfortunately, as of Mr2026 Daily Dental discontinued the Saturday opening hours.

Dental assistant assisting patient during dental procedure.
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Jobs Dental assistant assisting a patient during a dental procedure.

Dental Assistant

I am back at Brentwood Dental . Worked part-time May-June 2024. I worked as a dental assistant during winter break and returned to support the team part-time in the spring. My responsibilities included chairside assistance, patient prep. I also worked closely again with the Office Manager.

Dental assistant assisting a patient during a dental procedure.

Research Assistant

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, NASHVILLE, TN, JUNE-AUGUST 2023 (FULLTIME)

High-Throughput Screening (HTS) facility

I worked with the assay development and HTS team on biochemical and cell-based screens to identify lead compounds for mechanistic studies and drug discovery. My role involved assay support, automation assistance, and data capture. I’m grateful for mentorship from Joshua Bauer, Ph.D., and Debbie Mi, Ph.D., whose guidance helped me bridge laboratory research with clinical ambitions.

Alzheimer Research

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, NASHVILLE, TN, JUNE-AUGUST 2022 (FULLTIME)

Research Intern (Paid/Stipend)

Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism

I assisted Fiona Harrison, PhD. on studies using 5xFAD mice to examine how manganese affects Alzheimer’s-related motor deficits. Conducted hands-on live animal research involving mice, including dissections and brain slicing. Contributed to the research report “Motor function deficits in the 12-month-old female 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.