ABRCMS Alumni Spotlight: Jenea Adams, Ph.D.

Jenea I. Adams graduated from the University of Dayton with a BS in Biology and a Minor in Computer Science from the University of Dayton. As a Ph.D. Candidate in Genomics and Computational Biology at Penn and a member of the Yi Xing Lab in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Computational and Genomic Medicine, she applies and develops computational tools to leverage RNA biology for the interrogation of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. She’s also passionate about teaching and building community and is the founder and director of the Black Women in Computational Biology Network.

What has been a low point or challenge in your scientific journey and what helped you overcome it?

A challenge in my scientific journey so far has been understanding that my scientific voice is going to continue to evolve and that I may not discover it completely within the time span of my Ph.D.. I’ve spent so many years of my professional life trying to proactively define the type of scientist I wanted to be, but what I’ve found more valuable is living in the moment and focusing on doing good science day-to-day. I’ve learned much more about my strengths, weaknesses, and values that way. In short, constantly stepping out of my comfort zone has helped me more as a scientist than constantly staying inside of it.

What is something about science or your current work that you find fascinating or motivating?

I think it’s really fascinating and powerful to be able to tell scientific stories with data. Data is like a footprint or puzzle piece that I get to use really interesting tools to put back together. I like to search for patterns and reveal a bigger picture, and it’s especially rewarding to help advance work in cancer in a way that elucidates solutions to health disparities for communities excluded from the care they need.