Dr. Chris Elsik (Photo: Roland Dimaya)
Insight: Dr. Chris Elsik
What do you regard as your greatest academic success?
I consider myself successful in general, but don’t have any one great success yet.
What is your idea of happiness?
Having close friends and family, good coffee, and sunny weather.
Who or what was the greatest influence in your life that led to your career?
There wasn’t any one influence. I always thought I would have a career in science and never thought about doing anything else.
If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Nothing.
What do you enjoy about teaching?
Interacting with students.
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in real life (and why)?
Many nameless people who take risks to help others.
Who is your favorite thinker?
Leo Tolstoy.
What historical figure would you most like to meet and why?
Mahatma Gandhi.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
There would be more compassion in our justice system.
If you could change one thing at Georgetown, what would it be?
More space for my students and post-docs.
If you could come back to life as a plant/animal/thing, what would it be?
I wouldn’t want to come back as anything else.
What, if any, is your phobia?
Answering questionnaires like this.
How do you have fun?
Spending time with family and friends, listening to music, walking/running, traveling, camping, visiting museums and used bookstores, reading, watching movies.
What is the best piece of advice you could give to your students?
Be passionate about your chosen profession or area of study.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
I have had a couple good opportunities that required me to leave positions that I really liked, and I always felt sorry about leaving my job and coworkers. When I was a lab technician, my supervisor advised me that my career decisions should be based on what is best for me, and that my employers and colleagues would always recover from my choice to move on when a new opportunity arises.
Feature Story
Dr. Chris Elsik Unravels Bioinformatic Code
At first, it seems as if honey bees, cattle, and video games have almost nothing in common. But Dr. Chris Elsik, an assistant professor of bioinformatics in Georgetown's Department of Biology, sees a clear connection. In one way or another, all three factor into her professional interests. Dr. Elsik is fascinated by all types of puzzles in the natural world, and she has found that the field of bioinformatics offers her a way to marry her skills in biology and programming. For the past several years, her passion for solving problems has led her to study one of nature's most beguiling riddles: the gene.
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Students Contribute to Scientific Community
Georgetown undergraduates assist Dr. Elsik in a genome annotation program.
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