Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  University of Cambridge

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  As a plant scientist, my research interests broadly focus on how plants have evolved unique traits such as different flower colors or the shape of their leaves. Currently, I am investigating how a south African daisy, Gorteria diffusa, has evolved unique color spots on their flower that mimic the shape and color of their main pollinator, a bee-fly. To answer this question I study the development of the flowers from a simple bud to a complex daisy, measure the different chemicals that produce the unique coloration, look at the genes that might be causing these changes, and study how these flowers interact with pollinators in south Africa. These questions and techniques belong to a larger field of evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) biology. At its core evo-devo asks questions about how an organism has evolved, why did the organism evolve a certain trait, and how is this trait built using the existing genes and chemicals in the organism.

  
  
• 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):

  Growing up I knew I wanted to be a doctor from a young age. And I spent most of my time in high school and university preparing for medical school: volunteering, shadowing doctors, and taking courses recommended on the pre-med track. However, during the penultimate semester of my undergraduate degree I sat in the first and only plant course required to graduate with a biology degree—plant development. At once, I was mesmerized by the topics of the course and seeing how the broad fields of genetics, evolution, and chemistry came together like an interwoven tapestry to paint a picture of how plants develop and why they have evolved so many unique features. After finishing the class, I worked as a volunteer on a research project in flower symmetry evolution and fell in love with the field. The plant science field is constantly challenging with new questions, new destinations, and new techniques. As a scientist you are constantly learning and solving new puzzles to explain how plants display so many fascinating traits.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What lessons have you learned in your career about how science works?

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

  Being a scientist is like being a detective with an engineering license. Every research project seeks to ask and answer a broad question and it is the job of the scientist to first choose how to approach the question, the choose the appropriate tools, gather evidence, and then piece together a story that will answer the question. Some questions take a few months to answer, but others and really the most exciting ones take years and maybe even a lifetime to answer. And as you journey through this process of asking and gathering evidence, you end up tinkering with new tools, travelling across the globe, and finding new questions along the way. But all of this requires patience and an enormous level of kindness towards oneself as you tinker and fail, until you find the combination of pieces that will complete your puzzle and show you a clear picture. In short I’ve learned that science is like a 5000 piece puzzle and you have to work to sort it to see a beautiful picture in the end.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?

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

  One time during field work, we had booked a lodge in the middle of the mountains in southern Texas. There was no one around us for miles and it was the only house in the mountain range. I still don’t know how they got power, running water, and wifi there. But coming out in the evening after a day of collecting plants, we found ourselves looking at an open sky with more stars in the sky than one could count. We could even see the purple hues of the milky way. It was a surreal experience seeing so much of the galaxy in the quiet night on the Chisos mountains. We even had visits from javelinas. As a botanist, you never know where the journey will take and what other magical aspects of the universe you will explore. Sitting under the glimmer of the milky way, after a day of collecting, surveying, and studying plants was the best way to end the day.

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

  2