Jessica Mazerik, Ph.D.
Data Science Workforce Director
Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)
Leads the Coding it Forward Civic Digital Fellows at NIH and NIH DATA Scholars programs
Bringing in diverse talent to NIH:
I lead central fellowship programs to bring talented computer and data scientists to work at NIH. My roles include supporting host offices and fellows leading up to, during, and after the fellows’ time at NIH. Our external outreach efforts encourage women and other minorities to apply for the programs we support, and internally, we support engagement across NIH to place students in diverse positions.
An open mind and finding the joy:
Always keep an open mind. Throughout your career, you’ll have experiences that change your perspective and give you joy. Identify those moments, and use them to follow your most meaningful, fulfilling path.
Breaking down silos to advance data science:
In the last year, the NIH data science community has mobilized and integrated in new ways. Under Susan’s leadership, we have come together under the NIH data science umbrella to build infrastructure and activities, develop our workforce, and share lessons. Talented and driven staff across NIH have mobilized to lead implementation tactics under the strategic plan for data science, and we’ve built a forum for discussion in the monthly (internal) town halls. Most importantly, teams across NIH are working together and communicating broadly to break down silos to achieve great advances in data science.
From dog training to thesis defense:
When we got her, our dog Bear was pretty feral, terrified of most things and people, including us. To distract her from her fears, I taught her tricks like how to jump through a hoop and over my back. She starred in my thesis defense presentation, where I used a video of her doing tricks to discuss muscle myosin 2. Today, Bear has gotten over most of her fears, and is still very athletic even for an old lady.
Dr. Mazerik holds a Ph.D. in cell biology. She was featured in a blog post titled "Women in Tech at NIH: Togetherness Enables Transformation" guest authored by ODSS Director Dr. Susan Gregurick for the NLM's Musings from the Mezzanine in September 2020 and a lecture Gregurick delivered in March 2021 titled "Women Leading the Way: Stories of the Women (and Men) Making an Impact on Data Science at NIH."
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