Mad Minute with Guan Wang

Share some details about your background and what solidified your decision to join the MCIRCC team.

I have been in the information technology field for over a decade serving scientific research communities. My career so far has been within the public sector and for the well-being of people. I am a full stack software developer and a jack of all trades IT professional.  I am pretty good on communication and a reliable team player. I enjoy building robust, efficient and scalable software systems and data management solutions to facilitate the advancing of scientific discoveries and translate research outcomes into practice.

MCIRCC is a unique institution. It is similar to an academic startup, trying to change the world with talented people and cutting edge technologies. I always enjoy working with researchers and scientists and hope that one day my contribution could impact people’s lives and make the world a better place to live. This makes MCIRCC a perfect work place for me.

Describe your new role within MCIRCC’s Data Science Services department.

I am now the Lead Application Programmer at MCIRCC. I will work closely with data scientists and analysts at MCIRCC, or Michigan Medicine if necessary, to provide software prototypes/solutions or advise best practices that meets all Michigan Medicine requirements in terms of compliance and security.

I will also be the system engineer in charge of MCIRCC IT infrastructure planning and architecting systems for projects that need data analytics components. 

What are you most excited about working on in your new position at MCIRCC?

I consider myself an IT generalist. MCIRCC offers me the opportunity to take multiple roles and work on various challenging but fun IT projects. I really can apply my unique combinations of skill sets here.

What hobbies do you have outside of work?

Other than playing with my kid and dog, I guess I have some typical hobbies for a geek. I do computer algorithm challenges online for fun during my free time. I also collect 1/6 military figures such as the USAF PJ (pictured to the right) who is with special forces and provides recovery and medical treatment of personnel in combat environments. While this is an interest of mine, Dr. Ward (who is involved with trauma & combat casualty care) probably knows more about PJ then myself.