Mirrors: Aneesa Valentine, Senior SciOps Engineer
The AdaMarie Mirrors reflect back to us the many roads (often winding, never smooth) to success! Real stories to see yourself reflected. At first, you’ll see Aneesa in this mirror, but eventually, we hope you’ll see yourself.
Welcome, Aneesa Valentine!
Aneesa's journey is a testament to what happens when intellectual curiosity refuses to stay in one lane and when the drive to share knowledge becomes just as powerful as the drive to acquire it.
In this AdaMarie Mirror, Aneesa reflects on finding her footing across industries and discovering that you don't need a title or a degree to become a steward of knowledge. Now a Sr. SciOps Engineer at DataJoint and founder of ImpaktBio, a company helping enterprise businesses work with biological data at scale, her story traces how a single two-day workshop changed everything, and how a girl from a small town in Dominica built a career defined by impact, intentionality, and a genuine love for people.
If you've ever felt like the "unconventional" path was working against you, Aneesa's story might just convince you it was working for you all along.
Major & Minor – If you went to college!: Biology major (Undergrad)
Field of Work: Biotech
Expertise In: Computational Genomics, Data Science & Engineering, Data Management
Current Company: DataJoint
Job Title: Sr. SciOps Engineer
One-liner about what you’re working on: At DataJoint, working on a relational workflow model for biological data
Currently geeking out over: Computational modeling in genomics, claude code and replit!
STEM Hero: Jazmia Henry
Tell us about your professional journey – how did you get where you are now?
I mastered out of a PhD in computational genomics before pivoting to commercial data science. I bounced around in data science roles a bit before landing in life science again, this time in biotech building software for researchers.
It's been roughly one year since I founded my education & training company called ImpaktBio, helping enterprise businesses work with biological data, at scale. To date, I've worked with a handful of nonprofits and biotech startups nationally, in addition to large pharma like Pfizer.
We’re also curious to know your personal story and upbringing. What has made you “you”?
Though born in Brooklyn, I grew up in a small town in Dominica. Even as a 13yr old in high school with zero professional representation, I knew I wanted to be a scientist studying biological phenomenon. That curiosity and hunger for learning has supported every move I've made since then: enrolling in a PhD, mastering out, pivoting industries and building my own company.
Through it all, I've been determined to not only learn but to be a steward of knowledge. Everything I do is motivated by stewarding knowledge to create impact. And in parallel, having a genuine love for people.
We know that real life isn’t a smooth and linear journey. What was your initiating moment that led you to your calling - can you tell us about that moment, what helped you moved forward, what you learned/discovered?
Feeling "bored" in my 9-5 (biotech software at the time) led me to reach out to a nonprofit in NYC called Genspace. They are a community biology lab and curate bioscience programming for students and professionals alike. There was a need for computational programming so I signed up to teach a course on AI in genomics. I was so nervous prepping for that 2-day workshop, but my group was amazing. They were all genuinely curious with diverse professional backgrounds.
Once it was over and I was reflecting on the experience, that was the defining moment for me. It was at that point I realized that I didn't need a PhD to teach; I didn't need a PhD to steward knowledge and create impact. I certainly didn't need anyone's permission to carve a niche out for myself and lean into that calling.
So, bolstered by my curiosity and passion for learning, I moved forward. Taught the same course the following year, created a technical blog that now has 1200+ subscribers and took a leap of faith in founding my company shortly after. It's been an amazing ride since.
You’re a working person in a performance-driven industry. Where do you find balance?
It's tough to find balance sometimes, overwhelm is real. I am fortunate enough that the work I do with ImpaktBio doesn't feel like work; it feels like what I'm supposed to be doing. But even calling/purpose fills your calendar and leaves you with less disposable time. I am a person of faith so my relationship with God keeps me grounded even when I'm in a low season.
But practically, I am anal about enforcing time/energy boundaries. For instance, no meetings on weekends. No regular working past 6p (inclusive of 9-5 and ImpaktBio) including answering emails. Prioritize 8+hrs of sleep/night and regular gym/movement. Keeping my diet supportive of my goals. It takes being very intentional to accomplish all this but getting a routine going definitely helps me.
Let your geek flag fly! If you were something in Outerspace, what would you be?
If I were a part of the human body, I'd probably be the liver. Just out the way, in the cut, but essential to bodily function. Efficient and invaluable.
If I were something in outerspace I'd probably be grey matter: mysterious, abundant, kinda misunderstood. If I were a scientific process/phenomenon, I'd be the water cycle: complex, essential, valuable.
We’d love to feature your work! How can we spread the word about what you’re doing?
My Company: ImpaktBio
Substack: Bioinformatics: The Missing Semester
A nonproft I co-founded: The Black Life Sciences Collective
Organizations I Support: Genspace NYC and MelaninScience
Any final advice for early-career STEM professionals?
Dream big. If you have an idea, just do it. Don't wait for permission from others, or even from yourself. Everything doesn't have to black and white, the grey area is where cool stuff happens.
