Rebecca Berg
+1 (575) 636-4913 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-berg
[email protected]
Enthusiastic biologist with 9 years of research and statistical experience seeking to transition skills to data science
Education Fellow in Data Science The Data Incubator, New York, NY Spring 2017 Ph.D. in Biology, Minor in Applied Statistics, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM July 2017 (Expected) M.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY May 2013 Junior Visiting Research Fellow, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK Spring 2010 B.S. in Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH May 2011, Cum Laude with Honors with Distinction
Technical Skills Statistical and Data Analytics • Proficient: Experimental design, regression/ANOVA, generalized linear mixed models, PCA/factor analysis, model building • Developing: Machine learning, natural language processing, Spark Data Visualization • Proficient: Tableau, ggplot2, RShiny
Languages • Proficient: R, Python • Working Knowledge: SQL Analytic Tools • Proficient: NumPy, Pandas, numerous R packages • Developing: MatPlotLib, Scikit-learn, BeautifulSoup, pyspark
Experience Ph.D. Candidate, New Mexico State University & University of California Davis August 2013 – Present • Investigated how developmental stress influences future behavior and physiology • Led teams of researchers in successfully collecting largely unprecedented neurobiological data from wild mice • Developed novel lab techniques for quantifying physiological stress (publication in prep) • Building MySQL database to organize 15 years of historical data from multiple research projects • Using factor analysis to distill dozens of related measurements of an individual’s behavior into several explanatory factors that can be used for analysis and model building • Using generalized linear models to test predictions about individual variability in physiology and behavior • Presented findings to both technical and non-technical audiences (including k-12 and community outreach)
Awards, Fellowships, Grants National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (Graduate Workshop Participant) National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (Honorable Mention, 2011 & 2012) Columbia University Faculty Fellowship University of Cambridge (UK) Junior Visiting Research Fellowship & Grant in Aid of Research American Society of Mammalogists Undergraduate Research Award & Doctoral Grant in Aid of Research Sigma Xi Grant-In-Aid of Research
Publications Rebecca Kelley et al. (2013). Experience, but not avpr1a microsatellite length, influences parental care in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Journal of Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology. Castelli, FR; Kelley, R; Keane, B; Solomon, NG (2011). Female prairie voles show social and sexual preference for males with longer avpr1a microsatellites. Journal of Animal Behavior.
