Michael Karchner

I am currently a junior undergraduate student studying biology with a pre-veterinary concentration while actively pursuing and preparing myself for a future career in small animal veterinary medicine. I am an active member of the Pre-Veterinary club at Gettysburg College, and as the Vice-President, I build bridges between the club and professionals and other community members. I also play a role in coordinating events and fundraisers. During the summer of 2016, I frequently shadowed small animal veterinarians while also working as a kennel assistant and receptionist at a privately owned small animal practice. Over this period of time, I became very familiar with restraint techniques, examinations, and common surgical procedures as I observed and often assisted with on a near daily basis. I also observed professionals in orthopedic surgery, oncology, and cardiology at a specialty animal hospital. I am an alumnus of the HHMI funded Gettysburg College Phage Hunters Program through which I developed skills in the following areas: field sample isolation, sterile laboratory techniques, DNA isolation and purification, and bioinformatics analysis using tools such as DNA Master, HHPred, and Phamerator. I also headed my own bioinformatics research project, and presented my findings in conferences at the local and national level. In the spring of 2016, I was accepted into The Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College as a music minor concentrating in trumpet performance. I have performed with the Gettysburg College Wind Symphony and Bullets Marching Band and will serve as trumpet section leader of the marching band during the 2017 season. Since 2011, I have been working for Karchner Marketing Research, LLC as a Research Support Analyst performing content analysis, transcription, data entry, and graphic design. Since 2014, I have been working for the KMR Research Studio as Research Studio Support working in IT and video and database creation and maintenance.