Meet Your Lane Library Staff: Nikhil Milind

Every month, we are spotlighting an amazing member of our library staff. This month meet Nikhil Milind, our new Bioresearch Informationist. Nikhil has weekly office hours in person and on Zoom. He can provide help with using bash, R, Python, Git, or Sherlock (Stanford’s research computing cluster) for academic purposes.

What do you do at the library?

At the library, I help provide support for specific biomedical databases. I also assist in answering questions from the community regarding bioinformatics tools. To that end, I provide weekly office hours to answer bioinformatics questions. I am also planning to teach some introductory bioinformatics courses.

What did you do before coming to Lane Library?

I am a full time graduate student in the department of genetics in the medical school! I am a second-year PhD student in the Pritchard lab. I am training in the fields of statistical and population genetics. Currently, I am trying to understand how differences in gene expression affect human complex traits.

What are you most excited about in your new role?

I am very excited to help researchers at all levels use computational tools to accomplish their research goals! Computational tools are becoming increasingly common in biomedical research. Literacy about these tools can help simplify the research process and gain new insights into your work!

How long have you worked at Lane?

I have worked at Lane for the last three months! I have started to revive an “Introduction to Python” course that Lane used to provide previously. I am hoping to start teaching this course soon. I also provide Bioinformatics Office Hours every week, which can be a great way to reach out if you need any assistance!

What do you do in your spare time?

In my spare time, I enjoy playing in some of the student orchestras at Stanford. I play the violin with the Stanford Philharmonia and am also trying to learn how to play the piano. I have also picked up road biking in the last year. My goal is to try and bike all the way to the Pacific Ocean!

Do you prefer . . .

Coffee or tea? Coffee! I love herbal teas, but I have to have a cup of coffee in the morning. I also prefer hot coffee, even on a hot day!

Cats or dogs? I love dogs! Currently, it is a little challenging for me to have one, but I hope to get a dog as soon as it is feasible!

Candy or cake? Candy, although I will also eat cake anytime.

Salty or sweet? Sweet!

Print or digital books? I read digital books all the time now, but I love print books! I find it to somehow be a more immersive experience.

Nonfiction or fiction? I like both. I mostly seek out nonfiction books, but I somehow end up reading more fiction every year.

Summer or winter? Definitely winter. It is easier to layer up!