Dr. Emma Murray ’14, PhD

Emma earned her undergraduate degree in Bioinformatics from Ramapo College of New Jersey. She obtained her PhD in Biomedical Science at Temple University in Philadelphia with John Elrod, studying mechanisms of necrotic cell death in heart failure. She then moved to co-found a division of a health start-up, Rajant Health, focused on creating ways to collect and visualize omics data accurately. At Rajant Health, she leads the development and productization of a bioinformatics tool for researchers that requires no coding skills.

Title: Life of a Researcher: Warning! Zigs and Zags Ahead

Summary: Dr. Murray’s talk will focus on her personal journey of becoming and embodying being a researcher, from the formative questions that guided her along the way, to the key personal and academic interests that sparked surprising twists and turns. This discussion will touch upon her academic forays into research, mentioning the scientific work done at Ramapo as an undergraduate and the studies performed during her doctorate research at Temple University. She will cover some of the challenges she faced throughout her experiences, and draw connections to the unique landscape young STEM researchers face today as they prepare to venture out into the world. Most of all, she will focus on the opportunities presented in life to delve deeper into questions in search of truth, and how her decisions when faced with such quandaries have helped shape her outlook on her professional career both now and into the future.