Aren completed his M.Sc. (2014), and B.Sc. (Hons) (2011) in Biochemistry at the University of Saskatchewan. His research focused on characterizing rare metabolic genetic diseases. This led to identification of novel protein functions, generation of mouse-models for human diseases, and development of disease biomarkers.

Prior to joining GIFS, Aren worked in the Next-Generation Sequencing Facility at the University of Saskatchewan. He was responsible for the design, technical execution, and bioinformatic analysis of a wide variety of sequencing projects. These projects included RNA-seq transcriptomes, SNP identification, whole-genome assembly, and exon enrichment analysis. He has a broad knowledge base in every step of NGS project development, execution, and reporting.

At GIFS, he provides bioinformatic support for large-scale genomic and genetic analysis projects. His primary responsibility is the automation of data pipelines to support scalable analysis.