Ashlea Nguyen – Bishop Lab

The Bishop Lab helped to provide me with insight into the methodology of research. As I am currently a senior, I joined the lab initially with a range of field experience, however, with not as much lab experience. I began the research process alongside Dr. John Bishop and graduate student Becca Evans in surveying the interactions between invasive herbivorous insects on the lupins and willows at Mt. St. Helens. The experience I had gained while in the lab and outside in the field was worthwhile as there is no other nearby ecosystem like the one at St. Helens. After the eruption in 1980, the “blast zone” spanned across the Northern region of the mountain, creating an exhibit for primary succession to occur. In preparing soil samples for stable isotope analysis, the ecological change over time was measured by the samples collected in the pumice plains through carbon and nitrogen levels. By monitoring the activity of the systems above and below the soil, the dynamics between these systems can be measured from its exchange in nutrients and productive growth. Most recently, in helping with the organization of plots out in the field, there were close encounters with native flora and fauna that was exciting to see i.e., schools of Western tadpoles, herds of elk, and bears. The more I learned about the recovery of the landscape on Mt. St. Helens, the more questions I had about its progression. It is a reminder of the purpose behind research itself. In retrospect, I’m grateful for having been a part of the research process on Mt. St. Helens as it has created a foundational structure for me to build towards my goal of working alongside local indigenous communities to restore wetland habitats. I think it is important to gain hands-on experience through volunteering in research, and I would recommend all students to further develop their skills by doing so.

Adrian Nelson Wheatley – Bishop Lab

Before I began volunteering with the Bishop lab, I was not especially familiar with scientific research. I had some experience with wildlife surveys, but working in the lab alongside graduate student Rebecca Evans allowed me to get acquainted with a variety of research methods and techniques, and because of it, I now have experience both in the lab and in the field. Since joining in January 2020, I have assisted with research on the recovering and developing biological communities of Mount St Helens, and got the chance to complete my first genuine research project, looking at how nitrogen deposition and insect herbivory affects the colonization of symbiotic fungi in willow roots. I followed it up with work on another project, looking at how the communities of symbiotic fungi differ among firs growing on the Pumice Plain, the area that was right in the volcanoes’ blast zone. I would recommend volunteering in a research lab to all undergrads in the STEM field; it’s an enriching experience, a great chance to meet knowledgeable and interesting people, and it served as a fantastic resume builder that helped me land a wetland monitoring internship with the Department of Transportation this summer. As a senior who will soon be looking for work in the environmental field, my time with the lab has served as an invaluable springboard for the future.

Justin Olmsted – Bishop Lab

Justin is a senior majoring in Biology with a minor in Environmental Science. In the summer of 2021, he joined Dr. John Bishop’s Lab assisting in research on the primary successional Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens. For the 2022 Research Showcase, he worked with PhD student Becca Evans on a project researching the relationship between soil carbon levels and invasive herbivores. The goal was to understand how herbivores can influence soil carbon cycles following a large-scale disturbance such as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The Bishop Lab has opened many doors for Justin, such as working as a Mountain Guide for the Mount St. Helens Institute. Here he can ensure climbers summit the mountain safely while also getting to teach about some of the incredible ecology of the Pacific Northwest. In the future, Justin hopes to apply his passion for ecology and make a career with a state fish and wildlife agency.

Chris Dexheimer – Porter lab

Chris is an undergraduate at WSUV majoring in Biology and minoring in chemistry, mathematics and molecular sciences. His academic interests include genetics, ecology, and evolutionary biology. In his free time though, he is a bit of an outdoorsman. Starting in the fall of 2018, Chris helped with the Porter lab’s research on how domestication and environmental stress may degrade symbiotic relationships between plants and soil bacteria. He now lends his hand in essentially every experiment going on in the lab.

 

Randi Richards – Porter Lab

Randi joined the Porter Lab in Summer 2020 as an undergraduate interested in cell biology, evolutionary biology, and genomics. She has been helping with the Porter Lab’s environmental stress tolerance phenotyping project where plant microbial symbionts are exposed to hazardous conditions like heavy metals and UV radiation. In 2021 she was able to present her research at the Vancouver Research Showcase, SURCA, WSU Research Week, and the Murdock College Science Research Conference. At SURCA she won the Emeritus Society Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Scholarship for the Biosciences and the Auvil Scholars Fellowship Award. She will be graduating in May 2022 with her BS in Biology and minors in Environmental Science and Molecular Biology. Until then she will be finishing the phenotyping project and lending a hand with various other research projects in the lab.

Bethanie Collette – Porter Lab

My name’s Bethanie Davis; my hometown is Kelso, WA, and I graduated from Kelso High School in 2018. I’m a current Junior majoring in Earth and Environmental Science at WSU Vancouver’s School of the Environment. In the fire-soil microbe lab, I’ve gotten the opportunity to work intimately with lab equipment (and feel like a real scientist) while wearing a lab coat. Each day that I come in, I get to watch the development of over 400 plants, assisting in measurements and observations, all while knowing I had a hand in the process. Since joining the lab, I feel confident in my ability to work in the sciences and have had the opportunity to work with some of Washington State University’s best and brightest! Not to mention, I am now eligible for several science scholarships and grants! This has been an experience I’d recommend to anyone who’s interested in science, as it’s been my favorite part of my educational career thus far.

Hugo Vasconcelos – Porter Lab

My name is Hugo Vasconcelos and I am a junior international student from Portugal/Macau. I am majoring in Environmental Science at WSU’s Vancouver campus, where I have been fortunate enough to get involved and help with doctorate research under Zoë Wilson and Dr. Stephanie Porter’s guidance. The question we are trying to address is how the domestication of legumes has affected the symbiotic relationship between legumes and their nitrogen-fixing counterparts, Rhizobia bacteria. While we are in the early stages of research, the short time spent in lab and in the greenhouse has already proven to be extremely beneficial to my understanding of the topics involved, and have helped me be more proficient in a lab setting. The group of people this research has put me in touch with continue to provide me with great advice and a feeling of belonging that is hard to match. I wasn’t interested in pursuing a graduate degree after my undergrad, but this lab is really making me reconsider. It is my favorite part of being on campus and I am am thankful to play a part in this important work.

Tullee Stanford – Porter Lab

My name is Tullee Stanford, I’m from Battle Ground, Washington. I’m currently a senior at WSU Vancouver, majoring in biology and minoring in environmental science with focus in restoration and systems interactions – both micro and macro. I work in Dr. Stephanie Porter’s lab as a research assistant to Angeliqua Montoya. I have been assisting Angeliqua in experiments to understand how specific genes in rhizobia affect its ability to form cooperative relationships with plants and how these genes flow in soil versus in nodules. Some recent work that has been done, has been designing and testing growth media for plants that will allow their roots to exist and come in contact with rhizobia, such that their interactions can be observed over time. I’ve sincerely enjoyed my time volunteering in Dr. Porter’s lab as Angeliqua’s assistant, it feels great being apart of such fascinating science and getting to work along side others who share a passion for microbiological and environmental sciences.

Add your research here!

Are you a current scholar wanting to add information about your research? Please email Dr. Stephanie Porter at stephanie.porter@wsu.edu to find out how.