Dr Emily Johnson PhD

Personal Statement

I am a Data Scientist working within the Computational Biology Facility (CBF). We are part of the Liverpool Shared Research Facilities and are hosted within the Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology. In my role at the CBF I deliver analysis on projects for industry and academic collaborators. My primary interests are Spatial Omics—in particular the best statistical practices to analysis Spatial Omics data—and Structural Biology.

I regularly work as a demonstrator for the CBF’s popular ‘R for Beginners’ and ‘R for Data Science’ courses and have developed my own material for our ‘Omics data analysis: Pathways, Networks and Biomarkers’ course. I have also delivered and developed material for the NEOF ‘Applying Multi-Omics in Environmental Research’ course.

Prior to joining the CBF I completed a PhD in Systems Biology at the University of Liverpool, under my previous supervisor Dr. Elizabeth Laird. This was a hybrid project involving wet lab work and computational work. It was during this project that I discovered a real love of data analysis, a skill I’ve been able to develop further during my time at the CBF. I also have experience as a database curator, having previously worked on the Human Ageing Genomic Resources databases.

I am passionate about public engagement and outreach, particularly when it comes to representation of women in the field of Data Science. During my time at the CBF I have developed our outreach program with the support of my manager Dr Eva Caamano-Gutierrez. We engage regularly with the Widening Participation team at the University of Liverpool to deliver workshops aimed at exposing children to the fields of programming and data science. We also deliver external lectures and workshops, having worked with feminist clubs and schools in the Northwest of England. These workshops and lectures have been very well-received, so if you’d like to learn more or work with us please get in touch!