Nicholas Chen

About Nicholas Chen

Hi, my name is Nick and I\'m a Principal Scientist of Genomic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics at the Virginia Department of General Services - Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services. Previously, I completed my Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases with a concentration in Public Health Modeling at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH). At YSPH, I worked in the Grubaugh Lab conducting research on pathogen genomics and genomic epidemiology, with a first-author publication on developing a sequencing approach to human monkeypox virus (mpox) at Plos Biology (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.30•••51). My research interests lie primarily in genomic epidemiology, public health modeling, bioinformatics, and microbial evolution.

Experience

1. Principal Scientist - Genomic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics

   Virginia Department of General Services

   Aug 2023 — Present · Richmond, VA, US

   Leading a team of scientists in the development of a state-wide genomic epidemiology program - Researching approaches to detect pathogen outbreaks using whole genome sequencing (WGS) data - Developing bioinformatics pipelines for the surveillance of Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacterales - Leading regional genomic epidemiology trainings for state epidemiologists- Employing phylogenetic analyses to resolve outbreak clusters- Automating outbreak and surveillance reporting

Education

• Saint Louis University

  Bachelor of Science (BS) - Public Health | Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Sociology

  2017 — 2021

• Yale School of Public Health

  Master of Public Health (MPH) - Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases | Public Health Modeling

  2021 — 2023