From Loss to Love

Nicole's Journey with ALL4AnimalsRescue

Mishawaka-based research professional Nicole Ellis discovered the All4Animals Rescue  after she lost Sunset, her 14-year-old Labrador Retriever. The rescue is run entirely by volunteers who do everything from coordinating intake and adoption, to driving animals to the vet, and posting pictures/bios about each animal online. Volunteers are there from morning to evening, caring for all of the animals. Nicole volunteers once a week, helping run the facility, cleaning up pet accidents, sweeping/mopping kennel floors, cleaning dog beds, giving fresh blankets, water, and food, and doing laundry, and of course, socializing and playing with the dogs. 

“I always leave my dog shift at the rescue feeling needed and happy.  It never feels like work to me, but I'm always excited to be reunited with the canine residents. It feels like a home away from home!”

My impact as a Healthineer 

Empowering Diagnostics for Better Health

“As a scientist in the R&D department of a medical diagnostics company, I have a wide variety of tasks both in the laboratory and at the computer.  Laboratory work includes preparing solutions, testing biological samples (urine and blood), and maintaining a variety of analytical instruments.  Computer work includes analyzing data in Excel or Minitab, writing experiment protocols and reports, and discussing projects through virtual meetings with colleagues that could be a few cubicles away, a few states away, or on the other side of the world.

Specifically, our team focuses on the improvement of existing assays and the development of new analyzers for use in doctors’ offices.  It is always exciting when a project we have been working on for years is finally launched and used in the clinical environment.

What I love most about my job is that I’m constantly learning and there will never come a point in time in which I have learned it all.  There are all kinds of people to learn from:  colleagues with different expertise, experiences, and skill sets.  It’s fulfilling to work together with a wide variety of people and have our collective hard work go into helping healthcare professionals diagnose conditions, so people can be properly treated and live better, healthier lives."

Nicole 

Scientist at Siemens Healthineers