Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  The University of British Columbia

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am intersted in how plants parastize othe plants or even fungi to meet their food needs. I study how this evolves in ferns, lycopophytes, and liverworts.

  
  
• 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 entered my undergraduate education declared as an English major. As part of that track, I took a mandatory science course in my first year that happened to have a plant science component. I did not have a particularly strong interest in science before this, but the plant professor was extremely enthusiastic and the labs effectively taught so many fascinating things about plants that I decided to switch my major to Genetics and Plant Biology by the end of the course. I was surprised to realize how complex plants were and the extent to which I had taken them for granted. There are two lessons that really stick out in my mind. The first was on phototropism (how plants move towards light) and the experiments Darwin and his son conducted to discover the hormone auxin. Movement in plants was something I had never considered and the fact they were able to sense and react to their evironment in such an adaptive way was fascinating. The second was a lab with algae, specifically volvox colonies. I recall seeing them spin and whirl around and thought they looked incredibly abstract and strange. Realizing the diversity of life that was available for me to study was a second powerful factor in motivating my choice to change majors.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  One of the best things about being a scientist is being able to pursue almost anything you're interested in. It's a job that often rewards you for being passionate and cultivating your interests. There's also a lot of excitement in discovering something no one else has ever looked at or thought about! I also enjoy being able to (mostly) structure my own time. I'm not a morning person, so I am able to do most of my work in the afternoons and evenings and pursue projects at my own pace.

  
  
• 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):

  My labmate and I were on a two week field outing searching for a species of carnivorous plant that she studies. On our last day we came to a lake where there was a reported sighting. It turns out that the entire like is private property and was surrounded by mansions. We managed to catch a woman leaving her house and ask if there was any possible way for us to access the lake. She reluctantly brought us inside to talk to her husband. He said he was a man of science and would let us take a look, but it turns out there was barely any sandy bank to walk on to access the other side where the plant was. The couple kindly decided to lend us kayaks! We set off from their dock and kayaked across the beautiful lake to a little bank that had the carnivorous plant we were looking for!

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

achsrichbourgcfernspring2024 project 4 Mari Wilson Apr 24 at 12:53pm

Fern spores are very interesting! They are unicellular and in most ferns are all the same (homosporous). Some ferns have actually evolved two different kinds of spores and are called heterosporous, which is a bit more similar to seed plants. Many…

more

Fern spores are very interesting! They are unicellular and in most ferns are all the same (homosporous). Some ferns have actually evolved two different kinds of spores and are called heterosporous, which is a bit more similar to seed plants. Many spores are green in color and develop under the light, however some fern spores only develop in darkness into gametophytes that live belowground and do not photosynthesize. 

achsrichbourgcfernspring2024 project 4 Mari Wilson Apr 24 at 12:50pm

Hi Brinley, that is a great observation. When growing spores in culture, it is very easy for the plates to become contaminated with fungi, algae, or bacteria. Typically we try to plate spores in a clean and controlled environment using a laminar…

more

Hi Brinley, that is a great observation. When growing spores in culture, it is very easy for the plates to become contaminated with fungi, algae, or bacteria. Typically we try to plate spores in a clean and controlled environment using a laminar flow hood. This essentially blows air away from wherever you are plating to prevent contaminants from landing on the plate. More agar and more sugars on the plate can certainly encourage bacteria to grow there!

achsrichbourgcfernspring2024 project 4 Mari Wilson Apr 12 at 05:29pm

Hello everyone! My name is Mari and I am a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I study bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts), ferns, lycophytes, and fungal communities associated with plants. I enjoy…

more

Hello everyone! My name is Mari and I am a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. I study bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts), ferns, lycophytes, and fungal communities associated with plants. I enjoy hiking, reading, and gardening in my free time. I look forward to working with you!