James Lawlor was NAVE’s official first newbie, not having worked with Dr. Sneed until he arrived for the NAVE weekend in Orlando in 2013–where he was quickly won over by the friendly group and Dr. Sneed’s relentless enthusiasm. James sang in the odd church choir or theater chorus growing up and arrived at the University of Alabama-Huntsville for college thinking that joining a choir might be a fun way to spend an afternoon a week. Instead, he joined both the UAH Concert Choir and Chamber Choir and spent every afternoon working on a wide variety of choral repertoire. Since then, James has received bachelors degrees in mathematics and biochemistry and a masters degree in modeling & simulation from UAH. After a few years with the DoD, James now works as a computational biologist at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biology–that is to say, he writes software and does statistical analyses to support a research lab specializing in using whole genome sequencing to diagnose pediatric developmental delay and other rare diseases. He is also serving a two-year term on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Adult Advisory Council, a group of fellow adults with Cystic Fibrosis that provide advice and community advocacy for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to support their mission to cure CF. James sings with NAVE and with a local chamber choir called Ensemble Namárië. In what’s left of his free time, James enjoys reading, playing Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop RPGs (including a decade-long game run by fellow NAVE member, Walter), photography, and other nerdy things. James lives in Huntsville with his useless mutt, Kibeth. He named Kibeth after The Disreputable Dog and got precisely what he deserved.