Casey Hansen

Background

About Casey Hansen

Newly minted professor of biology, teaching students how to love computational analysis and all of the cool things you can learn about cats. Pittsburgh area native and West Virginia transplant with a passion for science, scientific communication, and science education "Jack of All Trades" is practically genetic in my family. I was taught to never say "no" to an opportunity to learn, and because of that, I've had a variety of professional experiences. I started out with a love of math and physics, which led me to computer science, which ultimately led me to computational biology. The central topic of my thesis draws on this diverse history of skills - I have built a tool that automatically judges literature information for computational model building. My interests are in computational biology and using computational methods to address problems affecting animal health and welfare (I predominantly work with cats). I'm also a firm believer that teaching and scientific communication is a vital part of being a good scientist. I look for opportunities to mentor rising scientists, and to foster an interest in science in younger kids. In my free time, you can find me volunteering at the local animal shelter or training in taekwondo, working towards my next rank. I have experience with software development, programming in both Python and R, data analysis, image processing and visualization, and programming. My strengths are in my organization - I pride myself on keeping my work cleanly and clearly documented. With my liberal arts background, I have also fostered the ability to communicate to a wide audience.