Day in the Life: Elena Flowers
Photos of her two, young daughters and their painted handprint artwork decorate the office of Elena Flowers, PhD, RN. She is a mom, but she identifies as a researcher and professor too. “In April, I am volunteering at my daughter’s school for DNA Day to talk about my job,” Flowers said. “I appreciate that my job allows me the scheduling flexibility to do that.” While her job allows for flexibility, it can also cause her to work for several hours on a Friday night to keep up with her work responsibilities. The Assistant Professor in UC San Francisco’s Department of Physiological Nursing is coming up on five years at UCSF and her schedule is anything but slow. Having just finished an interview for a video project, she explains that since 10 a.m. she has had something scheduled every hour. “One of the things we talk about in the School of Nursing is this idea that faculty have to be successful at teaching, research, service, and have a personal life, which is basically an impossible order,” Flowers said. “It is a challenge to wear many hats and wear them well.” Flowers came to UCSF as a research assistant at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFGH) after her undergraduate education at UC Davis. Then, she completed her Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Philosophy degrees and transitioned into her role as faculty member. “While I am a ‘newer’ faculty member, my familiarity with UCSF began as a student,” Flowers said. “This is an advantage, but also an adjustment. It will take years to recreate my identity from student to faculty member.” One thing that helps her adjust to life as a faculty member is the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)’s K Scholars Program, which supports development and the formation of professional relationships with other junior faculty. This program is just one of her many weekly commitments. No “Typical” Day Flowers works from home two days a week and works on-campus three days a week. On Wednesday and Thursday, she is at the Parnassus campus. On Friday, she is at the Mission Bay Campus where she attends the K Scholars Program, and she occasionally goes to Parnassus. On Monday and Tuesday, she works from home, but teaches a class Tuesday night. Her typical on-campus schedule is as follows: • 6:30 a.m.: Wakes up and wakes up her children • 7-8:30 a.m.: Gets ready for work, eats breakfast, and makes her children’s lunches • 8:30 a.m.: Drops off children at school • 9-10 a.m.: Commutes to work via Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (Muni), while checking and responding to emails • 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: Attends a variety of meetings, including: o Lab meetings every other week for two hours o Alternating Department or Funding meetings every other Thursday for 1-2 hours o Meetings with Teacher Assistants or Students for about one hour o One-on-one meetings with lab managers for about one hour o Individual and collaborative research, which is an ongoing time commitment • 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.: Commutes home and checks and responds to emails; Often works again late at night Flowers off-campus days follow the …show more content…
“Through my research I am trying to better understand differences between genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors for type 2 diabetes,” Flowers said. “I also look at how to optimize risk prediction and prevent type 2 diabetes for high risk racial groups.” Flowers lab is a mixture of a dry lab and a wet lab and she collaborates with other faculty members. One faculty member she collaborates with often is Kord Kober, PhD, who is another UCSF genomic laboratory lead. They both manage and oversee the Nursing Genomic Lab together. Their lab functions as a resource to faculty and Flowers and Kober manage faculty activities and facilitate faculty research.
Two other faculty members who collaborate and mentor Flowers are Yoshimi Fukuoka, RN, PhD, FAAN, and Alka Kanaya, MD. Currently, Flowers, Kober, and Fukuoka are working on a pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) examining behavioral intervention weight loss for those that are Filipino with type 2 diabetes. Next, they will study gene expression associated with insulin sensitivity and intervention
Photos of her two, young daughters and their painted handprint artwork decorate the office of Elena Flowers, PhD, RN. She is a mom, but she identifies as a researcher and professor too. “In April, I am volunteering at my daughter’s school for DNA Day to talk about my job,” Flowers said. “I appreciate that my job allows me the scheduling flexibility to do that.” While her job allows for flexibility, it can also cause her to work for several hours on a Friday night to keep up with her work responsibilities. The Assistant Professor in UC San Francisco’s Department of Physiological Nursing is coming up on five years at UCSF and her schedule is anything but slow. Having just finished an interview for a video project, she explains that since 10 a.m. she has had something scheduled every hour. “One of the things we talk about in the School of Nursing is this idea that faculty have to be successful at teaching, research, service, and have a personal life, which is basically an impossible order,” Flowers said. “It is a challenge to wear many hats and wear them well.” Flowers came to UCSF as a research assistant at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFGH) after her undergraduate education at UC Davis. Then, she completed her Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Philosophy degrees and transitioned into her role as faculty member. “While I am a ‘newer’ faculty member, my familiarity with UCSF began as a student,” Flowers said. “This is an advantage, but also an adjustment. It will take years to recreate my identity from student to faculty member.” One thing that helps her adjust to life as a faculty member is the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)’s K Scholars Program, which supports development and the formation of professional relationships with other junior faculty. This program is just one of her many weekly commitments. No “Typical” Day Flowers works from home two days a week and works on-campus three days a week. On Wednesday and Thursday, she is at the Parnassus campus. On Friday, she is at the Mission Bay Campus where she attends the K Scholars Program, and she occasionally goes to Parnassus. On Monday and Tuesday, she works from home, but teaches a class Tuesday night. Her typical on-campus schedule is as follows: • 6:30 a.m.: Wakes up and wakes up her children • 7-8:30 a.m.: Gets ready for work, eats breakfast, and makes her children’s lunches • 8:30 a.m.: Drops off children at school • 9-10 a.m.: Commutes to work via Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (Muni), while checking and responding to emails • 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: Attends a variety of meetings, including: o Lab meetings every other week for two hours o Alternating Department or Funding meetings every other Thursday for 1-2 hours o Meetings with Teacher Assistants or Students for about one hour o One-on-one meetings with lab managers for about one hour o Individual and collaborative research, which is an ongoing time commitment • 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.: Commutes home and checks and responds to emails; Often works again late at night Flowers off-campus days follow the …show more content…
“Through my research I am trying to better understand differences between genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors for type 2 diabetes,” Flowers said. “I also look at how to optimize risk prediction and prevent type 2 diabetes for high risk racial groups.” Flowers lab is a mixture of a dry lab and a wet lab and she collaborates with other faculty members. One faculty member she collaborates with often is Kord Kober, PhD, who is another UCSF genomic laboratory lead. They both manage and oversee the Nursing Genomic Lab together. Their lab functions as a resource to faculty and Flowers and Kober manage faculty activities and facilitate faculty research.
Two other faculty members who collaborate and mentor Flowers are Yoshimi Fukuoka, RN, PhD, FAAN, and Alka Kanaya, MD. Currently, Flowers, Kober, and Fukuoka are working on a pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) examining behavioral intervention weight loss for those that are Filipino with type 2 diabetes. Next, they will study gene expression associated with insulin sensitivity and intervention