Shawn Preston – Bishop Lab
I started as an undergraduate at WSUV because I wanted to explore sciences in different aspects. My first real experience was documenting Carbon Dioxide flux in soils and analyzing data. From there I gained more in-field experience through the Bishop Lab where they study Disturbance Ecology. The Bishop lab gave me fieldwork through soil sampling on the pumice plains of the active volcano of Mount St. Helens. This research opportunity also
allowed me to learn more technical skills in the lab that I could not gain or experience on my own. Since then I have completed internships with USGS, NASA and returned to WSUV as a Masters student in Dr. Deepti Singh’s Lab studying extreme events. My career goals are to work for a state or federal agency within the disciplines of earth science or the physical sciences. I can easily say that if not for my research time here at WSUV, I would not be in the
position I am in today and have had some fun adventures.
Kyle Nguyen – Porter Lab
I had little research experience before joining the Porter lab but I brought dedication and drive to the lab to pursue science. Performing undergraduate research transformed how I view the world. As my ability to critically analyze and interpret data improved, I began to question everything. An experience I will cherish for the rest of my life is the comradery amongst the fellow researchers I worked with. I consider myself incredibly lucky for the opportunity to work in the Porter lab because I have brought several skills from this experience to my new research groups. I’m now a 3rd year PhD candidate in biochemistry and biophysics at Oregon State University pursuing biomedical research by investigating oxidatively modified proteins as drug targets for tumors of the nervous system. I have received awards from the Society of free Radical Biology and Medicine (SfRBM) and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). I hope to bring my expertise to biotechnology in the future. I owe so much of my scientific success to the foundation I learned in the Porter lab. Each time I progress in science I appreciate my undergraduate research experience at WSUV.
Check out Kyle’s current lab here and his new research highlighted in ASBMB Today
Emma Crippen – Porter Lab
During my undergraduate research experience I was exposed to a broad range of lab equipment and protocols. I feel like this really gave me a head start when applying to laboratory technician positions because I already had some lab safety training, practice following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), aseptic technique, and more. Even just seeing and using laboratory equipment helped ease on-the-job training in my new position as a laboratory technician at a water pollution control facility. In my new role, I assess the water at each stage of treatment using multiple chemical tests to determine if the wastewater treatment plant is providing adequate pollution removal. For now, working in an industry that pertains to my environmental science degree and is helpful/impactful to the local community is all that I could ask for. I am happy to have had the undergraduate research experience which empowered me to land a city job which has great pay and benefits!
Alysha Henderson – Piovia-Scott lab
When I first started at WSUV, I knew that I wanted to work with wildlife, but I didn’t know in what capacity and how to find the work that best fit my interests. I was disappointed when I failed to get an REU with one undergraduate lab, but the Principal Investigator (PI) of that lab recommended me to the Piovia-Scott lab as they had an open position! I feel very fortunate for this because my time in the Piovia-Scott lab has not only given me vital skills that WSUV classes couldn’t (e.g. culturing, RT-qPCR, DNA extraction), but I was able to network at conferences and ultimately continue my research interests into a Masters program in the Piovia-Scott lab. My career goals are to work for a federal agency in some sort of wildlife or lab work capacity; the fieldwork, fundamentals of ecology, and experience with molecular techniques have all added value to my degree and time at WSUV. This lab is also where I have made some of my closest friends!
Marea Cobb – Cooper lab
I joined Dr. Cooper’s lab with the goal of gaining experience in the lab environment and to help decide what I wanted to do with a Biology degree. While I was in the lab, I took the opportunity to enroll in the University Scholars Honors Program to further understand what steps are involved in academic research across multiple disciplines. While in the lab, I performed gel electrophoresis to identify DNA polymorphisms within different zebrafish strains. I also performed in situ analysis of 25-hour old zebrafish to analyze the development of iridophores. This work resulted in my first publication! My experience in Dr. Cooper’s lab opened many doors for me and was a huge contributor to the success I had in pursuing my master’s degree in Biomedical and Health Informations. While my career has moved away from biology, the tools I learned during this time are still incredibly valuable in my job as a software engineer. My time in the lab taught me discipline, critical thinking, and how to approach problems. I am now confident in how to take an ambiguous problem and break it down into smaller tasks to make a complete project. I will never forget the time I spent in Dr. Cooper’s lab and am forever grateful for the knowledge I gained!
A.J. Beirl, T.H. Linbo, M.J. Cobb and C.D. Cooper (2014) oca2 regulation of chromatophore differentiation and number is cell type specific in zebrafish Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 27(2):178-89. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.12205
Miles Roberts – Porter Lab
Before my undergraduate research position, I had literally zero experience working in a laboratory and a background in chemistry and mathematics that seemed irrelevant to the job. This was not a problem though as, during my internship, I was mentored in the execution of two massive experiments. This opened the door to continue my research as a paid technician and later lab manager as I began to design and execute smaller experiments on my own. I was also exposed to several advanced topics in biology that inspired my future research and learned how to better communicate complicated ideas. More importantly, though, I learned the value of surrounding oneself with a supportive community of researchers that will motivate you, how trying to be a “perfect” scientist will halt all your progress, and how to turn “failed” experiments into opportunities to go in a different direction. Now I’m a graduate student at Michigan State University working toward a Ph.D. in genomics. My long-term goals are to work at a plant biotechnology company working to reduce food waste and reverse climate change.
Check out Miles’ current lab here