Hi everyone,

One thing I try to do when designing an experiment is to make my predictions as clear as possible. Including creating alternative predictions. For example, could you explain a result where all plants grew to the same height? Using your knowledge of plants and biology in general, could you come up with a possible explanation for that outcome? Try and think of something that would be testable as well. It is not often that all predictions are verified after a study; but that is why science is a process. We move on and test new hypotheses given our updated information.

Finally, could you clarify your predictions? it looks to me like you are testing multiple hypothesis about changing the phenotypic ratio as well as general phenotypic characteristics by adjusting the nutrients. 

-Will

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for having me as a part of your team. It looks like Erika asked a few questions that I think will serve as a good introduction. 

What do you do in your job and why did you choose this profession? 

I'm actually a 2nd year PhD student, so my job consists of teaching some portion of a class as a TA as well as conducting research and reading research literature for the most part. 

In general, I study how genomes (the whole of an organisms genetic material) evolve following gene/chromosomal/whole genome duplication events (polyploidization). The process of whole genome duplication is actually very common in plants, but I study this in the North American gray treefrog complex, where there are two species that look identical but one has twice as many chromosomes as the other (diploid vs. tetraploid). I'm interested in understanding what the evolutionary consequences of this duplication are. For example, we know that the genome duplication instantaneously altered the call of the tetraploid species affecting reproduction of the newly formed species. However, a frog's call is very easy to observe. What about less obvious changes, such as gene regulation or function? We know relatively little about this, especially so for animals. 

Practically, this research involves collecting specimens in the field, collecting genetic data with tissue from those specimens (as well as phenotypic data, such as recordings of male calls), and analyzing that genetic and phenotypic data by testing plausible hypotheses. The final part requires an understanding of evolutionary theory (analyzing or developing mathematical models), statistics, and a good it of programming knowledge.

What is your favorite part about your job?

My favorite part is probably conducting an analysis and being puzzled by its results. Usually this means something interesting is going on. From there, I spend a lot of time looking into possible explanations, and hopefully, uncover a process or phenomena new to science. Apart from that, my second favorit part would probably be going out to ponds in the middle of the night surrounded by a cacophonous frog chorus to collect samples.

Where did you go to college and how many years did you have to finish to get into your profession? 

I completed my undergraduate at The University of Georgia getting a Bachelor's in wildlife science. For my PhD, I am at Florida State University. I am in my second year, and this program can take anywhere from 4 to 7 years to complete. From here, I plan on pursuing a career in academia--likely involving a post-doctoral position before getting a professorship at some institution. 

Thank you for the questions, and if anyone has any more, I would be happy to answer them!

-Will