Bioinformatics with a Plot Twist

Written by Maxwell Ritchie, GVSU ‘25 M.S. Communications

Shannon Wasson is a graduate student in the Health Informatics and Bioinformatics program at Grand Valley State University. Below, Wasson discusses how her research at GVSU helped her explore AI in forensic science, gain coding skills, and discover a passion for ethics in technology.

What kind of research have you been conducting at GVSU?

Wasson: I have been studying artificial intelligence in forensic science and criminal justice; I bring it more into the health informatics and bioinformatics sphere. I have been really focusing on forensic microbiology and toxicology, and a little bit of forensic psychology. I’ve been trying to study more about ethics and bias within the AI tools. 

How have faculty been able to support you during your research process?

Wasson: They’ve really opened doors to me. I’ve gained some close mentorships to some of the professors, like Dr. Zachary DeBruine. I didn’t know how to code with R before his project, and he gave me all the tools and the time to learn how to code with R to be able to fully do a bioinformatics pipeline.

How has research and experiential learning enhanced your experience as a student?

Wasson: I’ve really enjoyed research, especially with my capstone. The opportunity to be able to expand outside of the bioinformatics realm itself and go more into AI is something that is more of a niche interest of mine. Forensics is really left field to what I am studying. It really opened my eyes to AI and sort of opened a new interest I didn’t know I fully had. 

How has the College of Computing prepared you to begin your career?

Wasson: I came into this master’s program with very minimal programming experience and the College of Computing really supported both my academic career and professional career in becoming a bioinformatician. The professors also have advocated for me when I’m applying for jobs and have reviewed my resumes.

What kind of relationship do you envision having with the College of Computing after graduation and into the future?

Wasson: It would be really cool to be able to come back one day as a professor within the College of Computing. But even if that doesn’t happen for me, I still see myself having close ties to the College of Computing. Everyone here has really opened doors for me.