As a first-generation student studying Biology, I plan to spend the remainder of my graduate career as an active member of the Multi-Institutional Transformation and Graduate Student Support Initiative (MITSI) program at Northern Arizona University. During this time, I will work closely with Dr. Javier Ceja-Navarro, whose lab focuses on microbial trophic interactions, and other NAU faculty and students.
Graduate Research
Next-generation sequencing has established that soil microbes are essential for healthy ecosystem functions. However, limited research has investigated the complex network between such communities. My DOE-funded graduate research project from August 2023 to the present dissects microbial cross-kingdom interactions and how these trophic dynamics contribute to nutrient cycling. I developed experience in DNA/RNA extractions, metagenomic assembly, and nutrient analysis, among other various laboratory skills.​
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Committee: Dr. Javier Ceja-Navarro (1), Dr. Anita Antoninka (2), and Dr. Paul Dijkstra (1)
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(1) NAU's Biological Sciences
(2) NAU's School of Forestry
Summer Research
NSF's IRES program funded this 2-week research training course in May 2023. There is a lack of knowledge on how invasive pine trees affect Australian Eucalyptus forests. The intensive course exposed graduate students to these forests and supported their efforts to design a research project that used the local Eucalyptus forests as a model for studying tree-fungal co-invasions on native ecosystems. I gained experience in the topic of invasive ecology, microbial analysis, and statistical practice.
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Collaborators: Dr. Jason Hoeksema (1), Dr. Steve Brewer (1), Dr. Nicole Hynson (2), Dr. Carla D'Antonio (3), Dr. Rytas Vilgalys (4), Dr. Ian Anderson (5), and other colleagues at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment
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(1) University of Mississippi's Department of Biology
(2) University of Hawai'i at Manoa's School of Life Sciences
(3) University of California Santa Barbara's Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
(4) Duke University's Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
(5) Western Sydney University's Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment​
Undergraduate Research
From June 2021 to May 2023, the NSF funded my undergraduate research with the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) program. Reclaimed water irrigation is becoming a widespread practice despite the limited knowledge surrounding its effect on local ecosystems. I analyzed arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil chemistry response to local reclaimed water in native plants on the San Francisco Peaks. I gained experience in experimental design, microscopy, and soil chemistry analysis during this project.
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Collaborators: Dr. Anita Antoninka (1), Dr. Catherine Propper (2), and Dr. Nancy Johnson (3)
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(1) NAU's School of Forestry
(2) NAU's Biological Sciences
(3) NAU's School of Earth and Sustainability
Research Presentations
NAU's
Undergraduate
Expo and Symposium
Ecological Society of America
Montrial, Quebec, Canada
August 2022
Flagstaff, Arizona
April 2022
April 2023
SACNAS
San Juan, Puerto Rico
October 2022
SACNAS
Portland, Oregon
October 2023
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Awarded Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Special Mentions
Bioaccumulation of Metals and Metalloids in Botanical Tissue
There remain over 500 unremediated abandoned uranium mine sites on the Navajo Nation. In these areas, radioactive elements can spread further into the environment or it can leach into the groundwater. In this study, two communities located in Cove and Red Valley, AZ on the Navajo Nation requested to have their livestock collared and GPS-tracked to determine where they graze. This study aims to quantify the bioaccumulation of metals and metalloids in botanical tissue and soils grown in grazing areas and compare it to a control site where uranium mining did not occur. From June to December 2022, I aided in field sampling and practiced team collaboration, vast sample recording, and cross-cultural communication.
Collaborators: Dr. Jani C. Ingram, Dr. Nancy C. Johnson, and Dr. Catherine R. Propper
NASA Moss and Seed Pellets
This NASA-funded ecological project focused on studying two mosses interactions (Syntrichia ruralis and Achillea millefolium) affect water retention and pellet structure over time. From January to May 2022, I practiced my skills in data recording, seed and moss monitoring, and attention to detail.
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Collaborators: Nelly McCuistion, Jasmine Anenberg, Michael Sloan, and Dr. Anita Antoninka​