Roles at Yale

J. Nick Fisk is a 4th year PhD student in the Interdepartmental Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics in the Townsend Lab. In addition to their work at the Poorvu Center, Fisk is part of the NIH Cancer Biology Training Program, serves on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Student Senate, the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Accessibility Resources, and is a graduate affiliate of Jonathan Edwards College.

PhD Research

Fisk’s research focuses on using phylogenetic and evolutionary methods in cancer biology. In particular, they are interested in understanding the mechanisms of therapeutic resistance and metastasis. They also work on problems of generalized phylogenetic theory and principled experimental design.

Teaching Philosophy

Experiential learning is essential to Fisk’s teaching philosophy, believing that science students can learn through well-mentored research experience. Further, evidence-based teaching methods are central to their teaching ideals, having been a coauthor on two Discipline Based Education Research (DBER) papers concerning student misconceptions in the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology and teaching tools to identify and remedy them.

Teaching Experience

Fisk has served as an adjunct professor and graduate teaching fellow for a myriad of classes at Rochester Institute of Technology and Yale University alike. Their experience ranges from lab instructor to instructor of record.

Misc

When they’re not doing research or teaching, Fisk serves as head coach for Yale’s NCWA Wrestling team and has published a variety of English and Spanish language poetry, as well as a somewhat silly fantasy novel. Fisk is also an active member of the Meaning in Evolution and Ecology working group at Yale.