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Sage Hill Alumna Helps Decode Pets’ DNA at Basepaws
Dr. Stefani Andrews ’07 has a scientific career that spans exploration of novel ways to kill ankle-biting mosquitoes to highlighting genetic markers in family pets.
Andrews currently serves as Scientific Knowledge Manager at Basepaws, a health technology company that analyzes the DNA of dogs and cats on behalf of pet parents.
Just like people who spit into a tube to have a lab uncover their genetic backgrounds, a burgeoning population of pet owners want to unlock the secrets in their furry family members’ DNA. Basepaws reports to customers about breed background, why their pet grows a unique coat color and markers for potential disease and dental health.
Andrews traces back her scientific pursuits back to the Marine Science class she had with Science teacher Dr. Todd Haney. Getting to scuba dive every day sounded like a fun career, Andrews said.
“I think that there's always been so many opportunities at Sage Hill to just try out new things, or be involved,” Andrews said. “It's really cool to see, as an alumna, all of the opportunities that the students have. I'm even talking at a [SHIP] career panel this month, so it was exciting to be asked. It makes me feel like I'm doing something exciting.”
After graduating from Sage Hill, Andrews attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, to compete in synchronized skating and became a two-time national champion with her collegiate team. Andrews also competed internationally on behalf of the United States at six international competitions while in college, including the World Synchronized Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Andrews entered college as a Biology major but was never interested in becoming a physician like many of her classmates. Instead, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Zoology before moving on to pursue her doctorate in Environmental Toxicology from UC Riverside. As a research team member, Andrews looked at the relationship between bacteria and mosquitos as a potential strategy to knockdown mosquito swarms.
“During that process, that was when I really started to figure out, like, maybe I don't want to be in a lab all day,” Andrews said. “I like to be talking to people. I like to be interacting with people.”
As a UC Riverside teaching assistant, she learned how much she likes to communicate about science and watch others have breakthroughs in learning.
In 2022, Andrews got her foot in the door at Basepaws working as a content creator, explaining certain markers found in pet’s DNA to curious customers.
After a year as a contractor, she was promoted to Scientific Knowledge Manager acting as the company’s primary source of knowledge for the genetic markers in reports shared with pet parents. Most of her workdays involve reading scientific papers to make sure pets’ DNA sequence results are accurately analyzed and communicated.
Since June, Andrews has served on the customer relations team directly answering pet parents’ questions about breed and health markers.
“I love the fact that I get to talk about science and also talk about dogs and cats at the same time,” she said.
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