Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  University of Virginia

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I study the evolution of polyploid plants. Specifically, I use a combination of controlled crosses, population genetics, flow cytometry, and surveys of natural populations to determine if polyploids are reproductively isolated from diploids, and if polyploids are isolated from each other (i.e. tetraploids vs. hexaploids). I have also worked on the effects of self-fertilization on plant migration, and on the systematics of genus Campanula and genus Rubus.

  
  
• 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):

  Your speaking and writing skills will become far more important than you think they will. I know when I was a high school and college student, I focused mainly on math and science courses because they were what I enjoyed, and I took the path of least resistance for my English and public speaking classes. But sharing your findings with others is arguably the whole point of doing research, and you will be doing yourself a favor if you learn to write clearly and succinctly, and if you get comfortable talking about your work (and answering questions about it!) in front of a crowd.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is a typical day like for you?

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

  Part of why I like working in science is that there often isn't a "typical" day! While some aspects of research can be dull or tedious, and troubleshooting an experiment isn't usually fun, I get to spend a lot of my summer out in beautiful places studying some very cool plants, and few things make you feel better than being the first person to learn something truly new. Some aspects of the job are ongoing: I try to read new papers every day to stay up to date on my field, and I try to do some writing and data analysis for ongoing projects. Some aspects are seasonal: planning and performing field work, or teaching classes. There are lots of ways to stay engaged in science careers, and they can be what you make them.

  
  
• 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):

  Sometimes when you're working out where the public can see you, you have interesting interactions. I once checked out a potential population in Connecticut for my dissertation research, and had only a rough description and some GPS coordinates. Turns out this spot was on a river and was a popular local swimming hole. On a hot August day, here is this woman in field clothes with a backpack, checking nooks and crannies in rocks while everyone else was in bathing suits. Eventually, a mom with two small children came up and asked if I had lost something. I explained what I was doing, and the kids decided they and their friends should “help”. From that point on, every five minutes or so another little hand would tap me on the shoulder and hand me a dandelion, or some grass, or an oak leaf, etc etc. I did end up finding my species, and the children thankfully hadn’t disturbed them, but it was fun having “helpers” for an afternoon, and I got to show science in action to some folks who had just come for a swim.

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

Alexander, Taimoor, Sharon Brittany Lynne Sutherland Mar 29, 2018

These look good! Some questions:

How are you all measuring the plants? Are you using the same spot on each plant to measure from? And how often are you measuring each plant?

Alexander, Taimoor, Sharon Brittany Lynne Sutherland Mar 23, 2018

When you're cutting these, are you just damaging each leaf but otherwise leaving it intact, or cutting the leaf off?

Charlie M., Kay, Weibo Brittany Lynne Sutherland Mar 9, 2018

That depends on what kind of response you're looking for. You're basically treating the ash as a form of fertilizer (btw, I would NOT add additional fertilizer to these plants). If you were fertilizing for real, you would add miniscule…

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That depends on what kind of response you're looking for. You're basically treating the ash as a form of fertilizer (btw, I would NOT add additional fertilizer to these plants). If you were fertilizing for real, you would add miniscule amounts of ash to each plant. Based on instructions for commercial fertilizers, you would add about 0.024 grams of ash to each plant. My guess is that amount will be difficult for you to measure out in your classroom, and would only result in really subtle differences between your plants. I think going to ten times that amount would be a good starting point to induce changes in your plants. So if it were me, I'd mix 0.25 grams of ash into the soil for each plant. You're going to want to mix the ash in really thoroughly, so I would mix them in a separate container, then pour in the film canisters. What does the rest of your experimental design look like? What are your controls, and are you going to replicate your experiment?