Kelsey Florek

Education/degrees:

MPH, UW–Madison
PhD, UW–Madison

Current position or career path:

Currently I lead a team of bioinformaticians at the Wisconsin State Laboratory. Our mission is centered primarily on the development of strategies and workflows to improve genomic surveillance of infectious diseases and the application of genomic data in Wisconsin Public Health. I also work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) to support public health workforce development and the advancement of public health genomics nationally.

Advice for current graduate students and postdocs:

Do not be disheartened when looking for non-traditional career paths. Sometimes it can be very difficult to see a clear path forward and it may take a few adventures to find your way. Take each opportunity to grow even if it wasn’t what you thought and with a bit of perseverance you will find your place.