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Hire Dr. Jarrod S.

United States

USD 50 /hr

Freelance Bioinformatician | Expert in microbiome analysis, R, Python 10+ years of research experience

Profile Summary

I help researchers and organizations turn complex data into clear, reproducible, and publication-ready results. I specialize in creating rigorous, open-source analytical workflows that capture data, code, and results to deliver transparent and reproducible science. I am a data scientist, microbial ecologist, and field biologist who combines targeted field studies with high-resolution bioinformatic and genomic analyses to understand how microbial communities shape host biology, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystem-scale processes. I have led and contributed to long-term, interdisciplinary projects across marine and terrestrial ecosystems, supporting everything from study design and data processing to high-resolution community analysis, advanced data visualisation, and web-based reporting. I have a strong track record of guiding projects from study design through publication-ready results. I am committed to scientific transparency, education, and capacity building. I develop interactive reports and training materials that make advanced data analysis accessible to diverse audiences, from researchers to students and collaborators. I am also an experienced instructor and mentor in field-based tropical biology and data-driven ecology. Core skills & tools - R, Python, SQL, JavaScript - Reproducible workflows (Quarto, R Markdown, Git/GitHub) - Data curation, documentation, and reproducibility standards (Figshare, NCBI/ENA) - Web-based dissemination of analyses, results, and educational materials - Open-source workflow development, documentation, and version control - Amplicon, genomic, and metagenomic data analysis - Microbial community profiling & diversity analysis

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Computational Biology
• ☆ Microbiology
• ☆ Microbiome Research
• ☆ Mycology/Fungi
• ☆ Biostatistics
• ☆ Mycology
• ☆ Marine Biology
• ☆ Data Collection
• ☆ Statistics
• ☆ Comparative Analysis
• ☆ Meta-Analysis
• ☆ Regression Analysis
• ☆ Multivariate Analysis
• ☆ Nonlinear Regression
• ☆ Bioinformatics
• ☆ Python
• ☆ R

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Data & AI

Writing Technical Writing

Research User Research

Data & AI Statistical Analysis

Work Experience

Research Associate

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

July 2022 - November 2028

Postdoctoral Fellow

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

March 2017 - June 2022

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

July 2012 - February 2017

Education

Complex Systems Summer School

Santa Fe Institute

June 2015 - July 2015

Firefighter I & II

Southern Maine Community College

January 2013 - December 2013

PhD (Microbiology)

University of Wisconsin-Madison

September 2006 - May 2012

Microbial Diversity Course

Marine Biological Laboratory

June 2007 - July 2007

BSc. Aquatic Biology (Integrative Biology/Marine Science)

The University of Texas at Austin

September 1998 - December 2002

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Alaina R Weinheimer, Frank O Aylward, Matthieu Leray, Jarrod J Scott, Jarrod J. Scott (2023). Contrasting drivers of abundant phage and prokaryotic communities revealed in diverse coastal ecosystems . ISME Communications.

Andrew T. Nottingham, Jarrod J. Scott, Kristin Saltonstall, Kirk Broders, Maria Montero-Sanchez, Johann Püspök, Erland Bååth, Patrick Meir (2022). Microbial diversity declines in warmed tropical soil and respiration rise exceed predictions as communities adapt . Nature Microbiology.

Friederike Clever, Jade M. Sourisse, Richard F. Preziosi, Jonathan A. Eisen, E. Catalina Rodriguez Guerra, Jarrod J. Scott, Laetitia G. E. Wilkins, Andrew H. Altieri, W. Owen McMillan, Matthieu Leray (2022). The gut microbiome variability of a butterflyfish increases on severely degraded Caribbean reefs . Communications Biology.

Maggie D. Johnson and Jarrod J. Scott and Matthieu Leray and Noelle Lucey and Lucia M. Rodriguez Bravo and William L. Wied and Andrew H. Altieri(2021). Rapid ecosystem-scale consequences of acute deoxygenation on a Caribbean coral reef . Nature Communications. 12. (1). Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}

A. Murat Eren, Evan Kiefl, Alon Shaiber, Iva Veseli, Samuel E. Miller, Matthew S. Schechter, Isaac Fink, Jessica N. Pan, Mahmoud Yousef, Emily C. Fogarty, et al. (2020). Community-led, integrated, reproducible multi-omics with anvi’o . Nature Microbiology.

Jarrod J. Scott, Thomas C. Adam, Alain Duran, Deron E. Burkepile, Douglas B. Rasher(2020). Intestinal microbes: an axis of functional diversity among large marine consumers . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 287. (1924). p. 20192367. The Royal Society

R. A. Barco, G. M. Garrity, J. J. Scott, J. P. Amend, K. H. Nealson, D. Emerson (2020). A Genus Definition for Bacteria and Archaea Based on a Standard Genome Relatedness Index . mBio.

(2018). Biological rejuvenation of iron oxides in bioturbated marine sediments . The ISME Journal.

(2017). Biogeography of mutualistic fungi cultivated by leafcutter ants . Molecular Ecology.

(2017). Physiological and ecological implications of an iron- or hydrogen-oxidizing member of the Zetaproteobacteria, Ghiorsea bivora, gen. nov., sp. nov . The ISME Journal.

(2017). In situ estimates of iron-oxidation and accretion rates for iron-oxidizing bacterial mats at Lō’ihi Seamount . Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers.

(2017). Bringing microbial diversity into focus: high‐resolution analysis of iron mats from the Lō‘ihi Seamount . Environmental Microbiology.

(2016). Exploring the “Sharkcano”: Biogeochemical Observations of the Kavachi Submarine Volcano (Solomon Islands) . Oceanography.

(2015). Microbial Iron Oxidation in the Arctic Tundra and Its Implications for Biogeochemical Cycling . Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

(2015). Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores . Nature Communications.

(2015). Unique Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Hive Component-Based Communities as Detected by a Hybrid of Phospholipid Fatty-Acid and Fatty-Acid Methyl Ester Analyses . PLOS ONE.

(2015). Microbial Iron Mats at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Evidence that Zetaproteobacteria May Be Restricted to Iron-Oxidizing Marine Systems . PLOS ONE.

(2014). Convergent Bacterial Microbiotas in the Fungal Agricultural Systems of Insects . mBio.

(2014). Using in situ voltammetry as a tool to identify and characterize habitats of iron-oxidizing bacteria: from fresh water wetlands to hydrothermal vent sites . Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts.

(2013). A phylogenetic analysis of the phylum Fibrobacteres . Systematic and Applied Microbiology.

(2013). Leucoagaricus gongylophorus Produces Diverse Enzymes for the Degradation of Recalcitrant Plant Polymers in Leaf-Cutter Ant Fungus Gardens . Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

(2012). Metagenomic and metaproteomic insights into bacterial communities in leaf-cutter ant fungus gardens . The ISME Journal.

(2011). The Genome Sequence of the Leaf-Cutter Ant Atta cephalotes Reveals Insights into Its Obligate Symbiotic Lifestyle . PLoS Genetics.

(2010). An Insect Herbivore Microbiome with High Plant Biomass-Degrading Capacity . PLoS Genetics.

(2010). Monoculture of Leafcutter Ant Gardens . PLoS ONE.

(2010). Microbial Community Structure of Leaf-Cutter Ant Fungus Gardens and Refuse Dumps . PLoS ONE.

(2009). Bionectriol A, a polyketide glycoside from the fungus Bionectria sp. associated with the fungus-growing ant, Apterostigma dentigerum . Tetrahedron Letters.

(2009). Polymorphic microsatellite markers for the symbiotic fungi cultivated by leaf cutter ants (Attini, Formicidae) . Molecular Ecology Resources.

(2009). Polymorphic microsatellite markers for the symbiotic fungi cultivated by leaf cutter ants (Attini, Formicidae) . Molecular Ecology Resources.

(2009). Mycangimycin, a Polyene Peroxide from a MutualistStreptomycessp . Organic Letters.

(2008). Bacterial Protection of Beetle-Fungus Mutualism . Science.

PREPRINT

Alaina R. Weinheimer, Frank O. Aylward, Matthieu Leray, Jarrod J. Scott (2023). Contrasting drivers of abundant phage and prokaryotic communities in tropical, coastal ecosystems across the Isthmus of Panama .

OTHER

Friederike Clever, Jade M. Sourisse, Richard F. Preziosi, Jonathan A. Eisen, E. Catalina Rodriguez Guerra, Jarrod J. Scott, Laetitia G.E. Wilkins, Andrew H. Altieri, W. Owen McMillan, Matthieu Leray(2020). The gut microbiome stability of a butterflyfish is disrupted on severely degraded Caribbean coral reefs . Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory