Michelle Ponder

Michelle Ponder has worked in a variety of roles in the scientific field. Michelle began their career in 2008 as a Postdoctoral Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, where their research focused on characterizing transcription factors and histone modifications that were altered in serous ovarian carcinoma. Michelle was also responsible for training and supervising undergraduate and graduate students in molecular biology techniques, application, and scientific understanding, as well as managing collaborative microarray projects with the Bioinformatics department at Virginia Tech and Johns Hopkins Bayview core facility. In 2010, they moved on to Louisiana State University, where they worked as a Postdoctoral Scientist with research focused on an imprinted gene, PEG3, which is down regulated in approximately 90% of ovarian carcinomas. Her published data was the first evidence that PEG3 is a DNA-binding protein. In 2013, they became an Assistant Professor at Nicholls State University. In 2016, they joined Ochsner Health System as a Clinical Research Scientist in the Infectious Diseases Department and Biobank Department. Most recently, in 2021, they began working as a Biologist at Bayer, and in 2022 they will become a Clinical Research Scientist at Cofactor Genomics.

Michelle Ponder obtained their Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biochemistry from Centenary College of Louisiana in 2003. Michelle then went on to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Florida, which they completed in 2008.