WID Alumnus Wright Gets His Feet Wet in New Role

Erik Wright received his Ph.D. in microbiology in 2016 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied bacterial population and community ecology under Kalin Vetsigian in the Systems Biology theme at WID. Just before he left, he shared his Tools for Discovery. Now, as a newly-appointed professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh, Wright has an opportunity to make his own mark on scientific inquiry.

“I hope to guide others who are willing to cross bridges in the pursuit of science.” – Erik Wright

In last week’s issue of Science magazine, Wright reflected on his nontraditional career path, the interdisciplinary opportunities WID and his advisors provided throughout his graduate research career, and the way he plans to approach his mentorship responsibilities. In his view, students should be trained in multiple domains and acquire expertise in complementary fields.

Read Wright’s “Getting my feet wet” in Science.