A PERFECT MARRIAGE

Choosing his research has been an ever-evolving process since college. Between his high school graduation and enrollment at the University of Georgia, Ricketts explored his secondary interest in information technology and pursued an Associate degree from the College of Innovation and Technology before coming to the United States.

“I learned more about what I find interesting and what I deemed impactful,” he explains. It wasn’t until his freshman year at the University of Georgia––in a random conversation with a professor, Ricketts discovered the perfect marriage of microbiology and computer science. “That was the first time I heard about bioinformatics and that conversation really shaped my decisions since then.”

In 2015, Ricketts joined the Tri-I Computational Biology and Medicine Ph.D. program after earning a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Georgia. “I knew I wanted to do research and my parents have always been proponents of going as far as you can in your education regardless of the field. Considering all this, pursuing a graduate degree was really a no-brainer,” says Ricketts. “I count my blessings when I think about the fact that I get to do it here at Weill Cornell.”

RESEARCH

“My undergraduate research was in a microbiology lab working with mycoplasma gallisepticum  where I mainly focused on doing multiple genome alignments and identifying strain-specific genetic signatures ,” Ricketts says, “however, towards the end of my undergraduate career, I got the opportunity to work with a cancer bioinformatician and the experience helped to inform my direction in graduate school.”

Ricketts was exposed to the work in the Hajirasouliha Lab involving characterizing and investigating the role of structural variants in a variety of tumors during one of his lab rotations in the first year of graduate training. Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Iman Hajirasouliha, Ricketts’ research focuses on a type of variants known as structural rearrangements, which are large rearrangements of genome. His research further involves studying how they evolve within the tumor. “The goal is that this information will complete the picture of how mutations evolve within tumors so that we can make accurate therapeutic decisions during treatment,” Ricketts explains. His work has since expanded to developing tools capable of finding these large genetic rearrangements within genomes and large-scale analysis of these variants within and across populations. “The benefit of being in the Hajirasouliha lab is that the opportunity exists to get involved in a variety of areas such  as cancer genomics, metagenomics and machine learning,” says Ricketts.

He hopes to find answers to questions that have plagued us within cancer biology. “The way I hope to make a difference is two-pronged,” Ricketts says. “On one hand, I believe precision medicine and this changing paradigm in medical treatment is going to rely on myself and many others to decode genetic information and how they affect human health. Once we understand that well enough, we may be able to make headway with how can we do it quickly and accurately through the power of computational approaches.”

Based on his scientific accomplishments and positive attributes, Ricketts was invited to represent the Hajirasouliha Lab and present his work at the 2018 Research in Computational Molecular Biology-Computational Cancer Biology (RECOMB-CCB) conference in Paris. He has also been offered an internship to work with Natera in San Carlos, California continuing his work in cancer genomics.

WHY WEILL CORNELL

Ricketts cites the combination of unparalleled research opportunities, exceptional computational faculty and Cornell’s emphasis on translational research as being the key factors that set us apart from other research institutions. He particularly appreciates the close proximity to other great institutions such as Memorial Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller University, which allow him to explore and forge collaborative relationships.

He also appreciates the exposure to various career paths provided at the campus as well as the academically rich and collaborative environment, which empowers students to thrive and achieve their goals. “The allure of being in New York City and the options for career development present in a big city also factored heavily in the equation,” he adds.

HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION

As a previous co-chair and current board member of the Tri-I Minority Society and through the Office of Student Diversity, Ricketts has been involved in various efforts to increase diversity across all levels of the institution. He also participates in the Tri-I Minority Society Summer Scholars Research Program (TIMS SSRP) which aims to expose minority undergraduates to biomedical research and increase minority recruitment and retention in the science field. He is also involved in the local New York community using his time to engage with young minority scientists at schools such as Hunter College and Brooklyn College. Camir also volunteered as a judge at the New York State Science & Engineering Fair.

Beyond his involvement here at Weill Cornell and with the support of Tri-I CBM leadership, Ricketts also travels to his home country to speak to talented students about computational biology and the opportunities offered at WCGS. “I think all of us have a role to play,” Ricketts notes. “I hope that what I do will inspire enthusiasm and appreciation for science among young minority students. Thus, it is important to me to facilitate a learning experience to help the next generation to believe that they, too, can do it and thrive.”

In November 2018, Ricketts received the prestigious Jamaican Prime Minister’s Youth Award of Excellence in Academics, the highest national award recognizing young Jamaicans who have excelled and contributed to national development.

LEARN TO GIVE YOUR BEST

The transition from undergrad to graduate school was not easy for Ricketts. He faced numerous challenges, including getting used to increased advanced coursework, taking initiative to create assignments and goals in addition to developing way of assessing his own progress. Moreover, there is also the infamous “imposter syndrome” that Ricketts considers one of the largest mental hurdles any student has to overcome. He recognizes that speaking openly with other students and understanding that any blind spot in our knowledge represents an opportunity for growth –– especially learning to lean on other students to get better in areas we view as weaknesses.

“The thing about ‘imposter syndrome’ and self-doubt is that it has a funny way of making you convinced that it’s just you. It’s not,” Ricketts says. “Sometimes, when you overcome one challenge, you can almost guarantee another challenge is patiently waiting around the corner. But they all help with your growth as a student and a scientist.”

FUTURE PLANS

After graduating, Ricketts intends to continue to develop as a scientist either through postdoctoral training or working in industry. “I’ll continue to explore both options as that time draws nearer,” he says. Ricketts is also still passionate about giving back to the community and aspires to promote the value of scientific research in his home country. “Impact is very important to me,” he says, “and I have always wanted to pursue a career path that allowed me to have great and widespread impact.”

In his leisure time, Ricketts often scrolls through Netflix before settling on re-watching “The Office.” At other times, he enjoys exploring the city through food, travelling to new places, spending time with friends and going to comedy and Broadway shows: “If anyone decides that they don’t want their ‘Hamilton’ tickets, I’d gladly take them off their hands.”