Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  University of California - Riverside

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  My research for the past 8 years has focused on flower Evolutionary Development (Evo-Devo), specifically how pollinators affect the size and color of flowers. For my postdoctoral research work I will shift gears some and start studying the genomic changes observed between crop species and their weedy relatives. When grown in close proximity, weedy plants will start to mimic the crop species in aspects such as flowering time, seed shattering, and vegetative body form. Specifically I will be working with barley and rye. With rye, I am looking the genomic changes associated with the crop changing back to a more weedy habit in some cases.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  When and why did you decide to go into a science career?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

  I decided to go into science during my first year of undergrad. Originally I was a Chemical Engineer, but realized that I liked the science aspect, but not the math component. I switched to Biology, and got my first research position the summer after my sophomore year studying population genetics of freshwater stream fish. Even though I have jumped around a lot in terms of study systems, the techniques and tools I have been able to learn along the way have always been applicable.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is tough about being a scientist?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

  The toughest aspect of being a scientist is that there isn't a user manual. Since day-to-day activities change all the time, sometimes it is hard to come up with the best solution(s). This can be both exciting and frustrating at the same time.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Do you have advice for students about preparing for a science career?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

  Always keep your options open when it comes to research projects and study organisms. I have been invited to be part of projects that I originally had no idea about, and turned out those were some of the best/most interesting ones. Also, no matter what you work on, the things that you learn will be transferable to just about any project in the future.

  
  
• Availability

  I am NOT available, please temporarily remove me from the available mentor list

  
  
• Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

Hairy Skeletons Jacob Landis Nov 15, 2018

Those look great Sophia. I'm glad to see they are still alive.

Hairy Skeletons Jacob Landis Oct 31, 2018

Great news Natalia. Do all the germinated plants look healthy and still growing?

Hairy Skeletons Jacob Landis Oct 29, 2018

Sounds like you all had some pretty good germination rates. Are there any differences in the seedlings that germinated in the different temperatures? Are any bigger/smaller, or different colors? What is the next step in the experiment?