Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  Purdue University

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am interested in how plants are adapted to their environments and how they deal with environmental stresses like drought, freezing, light availability, etc. I study genes that allow plants to survive these conditions more effectively than others.
  I am also interested in how new species form, thinking about how the ways that different species respond to stressful conditions contributes to species formation. If species are adapted to very different habitats they may be less likely to form healthy hybrids.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

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

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

  Even if you think you know what field of science you want to work in, give other things a try, you never know what you will enjoy the most until you try. When I was in undergrad I thought that I was most interested in studying molecular genetics in animals, but I ended ups studying evolution in plants because of a research experience I had that made me realize I was interested in those questions.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  Mimulus guttatus, the seep monkeyflower. It is a yellow wild flower that grows on the west coast of North America and is the plant that I did my dissertation research on. It is great for studying the questions I am interested in because it is closely related to many other wildflowers and is very genetically diverse.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  There is always more to learn, and always new and interesting questions to think about and try to answer. Plus, once you discover something new you are the first person to ever know that information, and you get to write about it and share it with everyone else.

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

  2

  
  

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