Jeremy Jones

"My Bachelor of Biotechnology gave me a strong foundation in science and scientific thinking as well as vital innovation and business skills."

How did studying at UQ help get you where you are today?

My Bachelor of Biotechnology gave me a strong foundation in science and scientific thinking as well as vital innovation and business skills.

I was able to leverage the business skills from my innovation management major to work for a start-up in Bangkok that was developing novel foods out of insect proteins to make food production more sustainable.

After a few years working and travelling, I had developed an insatiable personal interest in machine learning, and came back to study a Graduate Certificate in Information Technology qualification at UQ.

While doing the grad cert, I leveraged key skills from my undergraduate degree to secure a role as a business analyst at my current company WearOptimo. From there I was able to transition into a data science role within WearOptimo’s Research and Development team – first as a bioinformatics data scientist, and now a senior data scientist. This all happened within a space of two years.

Because of my two UQ qualifications, I have found myself in a valuable place between science and machine learning in the emerging field of data science.

My goal is to continue to grow my data science and machine learning expertise — focusing on the interface between computers and biological systems — to design innovative systems that can read the rich information contained in biological signals to transform medicine and healthcare.

What was the best part of your time at UQ?

To this day some of my most treasured friendships were formed while I was studying my Bachelor of Biotechnology at UQ. My Honour's year was also particularly memorable as a time of deep learning and creativity. I also valued my time as a PASS leader (tutor) in helping me learn and grow as a person.

My graduate certificate was mostly completed during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and was a very valuable escape during those times.

What kind of work do you do as part of your job?

I work at WearOptimo in Brisbane which is developing wearable sensors that will be next generation medical devices.

As a data scientist, I drive the design and implementation of novel machine learning methods and analysis techniques to create new-to-world healthcare technologies.

By integrating my strong scientific background with a diverse array of analytical tools, such as mathematics, modelling, statistics, machine learning, and signal processing, I devise algorithms and innovative approaches for measuring and interpreting biological signals.

What is the best part of your job?

I love that I get to solve novel problems every day and be advancing the cutting edge of technology.

As a visionary who believes in the power of understanding biological systems, I get to harness the potential of data science methodologies to help develop new product innovations that could revolutionise healthcare and medicine.

What advice would you give to anyone starting their career?

Take this time to grow and explore. Enjoy it. Your peers are your greatest teachers.

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