Christina Mark

Christina's History Making Moments

What are your central passion(s), and how do you plan to pursue them after graduation? How have your experiences at Flagler shaped these passions?

My central passion lies at the intersection between mathematics and biology, the two majors I pursued at Flagler College. I was introduced to computational biology through the advice of many professors and summer internships. The first taste I had of the field was during a one week long graduate school preview at the University of Utah where I used Python to model the growth of cancer cell populations based on the Competitive Exclusion Principle and other ecological phenomena. The next summer, I took on an eight week long research program at Florida State University during which I used MATLAB to model the foraging dynamics of army ants and investigate the effect of the arrangement of food sources on trail formation behavior. These two projects were only possible through the support of my mentors at Flagler, who encouraged me to apply for them to discover my interests.

Soon after, I fell in love with computational biology. There is a beautiful balance between the fields of mathematics and biology as they support each other in different aspects. In short, computational biologists begin by looking at a biological question, developing a model to test parameters and design experiments, conduct experiments in the field, then calibrate the model, and so on.

Who or what inspired your passion in this area?

My passion for computational biology was inspired by many of the opportunities that would have not been possible if I never attended Flagler! Of course, it was my professors that made these opportunities happen and helped me to discover my passions. My love for computational biology has been continuously developed through research programs, capstone projects, and personal explorations. 

Can you share a memorable story from your time at Flagler that always makes you smile? What made this moment special for you?

I have had so many memorable experiences at Flagler that it is hard to remember them all! One story that I frequently think about began at the end of my sophomore year and continues to this day! 

For background, I have worked as a peer mathematics tutor in Flagler’s Learning Resource Center (LRC) since the beginning of my sophomore year. Since most of our tutors at the time were mathematics majors, myself included, I quickly noticed that there was a significant gap in the ability to tutor Business Calculus. I would offer my skills in Calculus, but there had always been a disconnect between me and the students I tutored because I lacked the knowledge to connect the mathematical process to business applications. After two semesters, I decided to take this issue up with the Business Calculus professor, Dr. Thomas Luckner, who also happened to be my mathematics advisor. Together, we devised a proposal to implement tutors in the classroom to provide hands-on help for both professor and student. We brought this informal proposal to the chair of the mathematics department and the supervisor of the LRC and soon after the Embedded Peer Educator Program (EPE) was born! 

Embedded Peer Educators are meant to serve as a tutor in the classroom, helping students on the spot during lessons and during LRC hours. EPEs also help professors address classroom issues by resolving misunderstandings and enhancing engagement. I have served as an EPE for four semesters now and it is wonderful to see how much the program has grown. Today, EPEs can be found in classes from the sciences to the humanities, and even CORE classes! It warms my heart to see the influence of the program on both students and professors and to hear the impact it has had on making students feel more comfortable in asking for help. I will never forget passing by my previous students on campus and hearing their thanks for my help in their success in Business Calculus. I am so incredibly proud of what everyone at Flagler has accomplished with this program!

Which academic resources, experiences, or mentors at Flagler were most valuable to you, and how did they contribute to your success?

My success at Flagler can undoubtedly be attributed to the many research opportunities offered across the departments and the commitment of faculty members to hands-on learning. My undergraduate experience at Flagler has been significantly impacted by many faculty across mathematics and the natural sciences. Before attending Flagler, I was under the impression that research opportunities would be few and far between since the college is a liberal arts institution. However, after taking Genetics with Dr. Terri Seron during my freshman year, I was offered a role as an undergraduate molecular biology research assistant with a small group of peers. This position allowed me to gain valuable experience in team building, scientific communication, and research initiative while building on important lab techniques. Recently during my senior year, I was able to participate in another project with Dr. Seron due to the rapport developed from our previous collaborative work. During this project, I was able to help other researchers on their first project just as I had been helped before! It felt like a full circle moment that I will treasure forever.

Additionally, I would like to specifically highlight Dr. Thomas Luckner, who not only served as my advisor and professor, but a personal mentor. He coached me through the research process on multiple occasions and helped me develop my graduate school application materials. As a relatively new professor to Flagler, he has truly transformed our small mathematics department and opened the door to limitless research and professional growth opportunities! I worked on a research project with Dr. Luckner during my sophomore year which significantly developed my coding skills and knowledge of number theory principles. As mentioned in a previous question, I have also worked closely with Dr. Luckner to develop the EPE program and improve student learning in Business Calculus!

Of course, Dr. Carrie Grant, the chair of the mathematics department, also had a significant impact on my growth as a student. Firstly, she encouraged me to pursue the mathematics major during the end of my freshman year and acquainted me with the department. Recently, we worked together, along with my boyfriend, Anthony Hartley, (who I met in her Discrete Mathematics class!), to install the founding chapter of Kappa Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honor Society at Flagler. I am extremely proud to contribute this legacy to the mathematics department and to hopefully expand the department’s presence on campus in the coming years!

What advice or lesson would you give to your freshman year self about the college experience?

If I could go back in time, I would tell my freshman year self to take it all in while it lasts! It feels like only yesterday that I was moving into Lewis and exploring Flagler for the first time, and now I’m finally going to be the one walking the stage! While I am extremely excited to embrace new opportunities, I will also deeply miss all of my peers, my amazing professors, and the overall Flagler community. Enjoy it while it lasts because it truly was the most transformative four years of my life!

In the Flagler spirit, how do you hope to make history after graduation?

After graduating from Flagler, I will be pursuing my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Here, I will work at the intersection of mathematics and biology, developing models to answer biological questions. I will have a focus in computational medicine to aid in drug discovery, drug testing, and individualized immunotherapies. I am extremely excited to assimilate the knowledge and skills I have gained from Flagler’s mathematics and natural sciences departments to hands-on medical research at a prestigious university. I will begin my graduate research early this summer after graduation to systematically model the effect of various drugs on extrachromosomal DNA with respect to inheritance of mutations.