Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Ecological and Evolutionary Biology at the University of South Florida. I have a big love for insects and a fascination with the story of evolution and the way that it has shaped everything that we see around us today.
Outside of academics, I really enjoy reading fantasy novels, hiking, collecting insects, playing tennis, and drawing different animals!
What kind of scientist are you and what do you do? In the past year, I’ve had incredible opportunities to explore two fascinating areas of science: virology and paleontology. My first research experience was working on annotating the genomes of four newly discovered bacteria viruses, called bacteriophages. Annotating genomes is a matter of cross-referencing online gene databases and reference genomes of other viruses to determine the functions of individual genes in an organism’s entire genetic sequence. A group of peers and I were then able to analyze a specific set of reproductive genes in one of our phages, called the lysis cassette. These are the genes that break down the cell wall of the host bacteria cell for reproduction. The order and quantity of these genes is wildly varied across bacteriophage genomes. We were testing the hypothesis that our bacteriophage would possess a unique composition of its lysis cassette as compared to other bacteriophages. We found that the specific order, quantity, and length of the genes in our bacteriophage’s lysis cassette was entirely unique compared to its relative viruses. The end goal of this bacteriophage genome project is to better understand why these lysis cassette genes diversified in such a way.
I’ve also recently begun a project in a paleontology lab that will provide some insight into the regional diversity of marine animals during the Mississippian Period, around 359–323 million years ago. I’m currently working on the first step of the project, which is simply separating the grain sizes of the sediment collected from Mississippian-age rocks in southern Illinois, USA to begin to identify the fossils present.
What is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? I have always loved animals, and I always knew I wanted to go into an animal science field before I could comprehend what science was. When I got older and realized that people out there spent their whole careers studying animals and the ways they work and interact with the world, I knew that had to be me. I became interested in insects, in particular, when I read a book about them and realized just how underappreciated they are. We see so many insects every day, but most people tend not to regard them much. Even worse, we know so little about so many of them! I knew I wanted to go into the entomology field and contribute to knowing more about these animals. Every research experience I’ve had so far has broadened the way I now imagine one could study insects—from virology to paleontology, everything applies! My favorite part about science is the exciting feeling I get when I ask “why” and no one has an answer–it’s knowing that the story has yet to be finished, and all I want to do is figure out how it ends!
How does your work contribute to the betterment of society in general? I hope that the research I have contributed to thus far will better our understanding of the world around us and the evolutionary history that has led to it. Understanding the diversity in things as small as bacteriophage reproductive genes may help us to develop effective medical applications to treat bacterial infections and understanding the past diversity patterns of extinct fauna helps us better comprehend the changes that can impact our past and present climate and ecosystems.
What advice do you have for up-and-coming scientists? The best advice I can think of is to not let the fear of rejection or inadequacy hold you back. The absolute worst you can get back from asking about an opportunity is a ‘no’, which pales in comparison to the absolute best you could get back. You can’t let your own idea of how smart or capable a scientist should be hold you back from what you want to do. You are more than capable of pushing past those times that you mess up or feel unqualified.