Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  Duke University

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am interested in plant evolution. In particular, I study speciation, which is when one species splits into two species. One of the most important parts of the speciation process is the evolution of reproductive barriers, which are the traits of an organism that limit its potential mates. In the case of plants, these are traits like the time that a plant produces flowers, the types of pollinators that a plant attracts, and whether a plant's pollen can germinate on another plant's stigma. A major part of my research is finding and measuring these reproductive barriers and then figuring out whether the barrier evolved because of chance events (drift) or because the barrier helps the plant survive, reproduce or make viable offspring (natural selection). To figure out why reproductive barriers evolve, I do experiments in natural environments and in the greenhouse, and I analyze the DNA sequences that underlie the barriers.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  The best part about being a scientist is the variety. Scientists do a lot of different types of work. They read papers, design experiments, do hands-on work in the field, greenhouse or laboratory, analyze data by writing code and using statistics, write manuscripts and grants, and help their colleagues solve problems. Scientists are also pretty free to explore the questions that interest them most. Together, this means that a scientist is never bored!

  
  
• 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 the reason that I like being a scientist is that I don't really have a typical day, but, an average day at my desk looks something like this:
  
  8:30-10:00 Writing (working on a manuscript or grant application)
  10:00-11:00 Working with plants in the greenhouse
  11:00-12:00 Email or reviewing another scientist's work
  1:00-4:00 Either working on my computer doing analysis (coding and statistics) or working in the lab (DNA extractions or getting samples ready for DNA sequencing)
  4:00-5:00 Attending some kind of meeting, seminar or discussion group
  
  If I'm out doing fieldwork, I wake up early to collect or measure plants, I have lunch somewhere outside, I collect and measure more plants, I come back to my tent or motel in the late afternoon to organize samples and get ready for the next day, and then I crash into bed early. It's is a fun, but tiring schedule.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

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

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

  The most important thing is to figure out which questions are the most interesting to you. One way to do that is to try lots of different types of programs and classes. Also, take some statistics and writing classes!

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

bhstaborspring2020 project1.2 Kate Ostevik Apr 9, 2020

That's a great tip! Writing things down is definitely important. It's helpful to know when you are going to be extra busy and when you can be a bit more relaxed.

I'm having a lot of my normal meetings over zoom now (e.g. talking to my…

more

That's a great tip! Writing things down is definitely important. It's helpful to know when you are going to be extra busy and when you can be a bit more relaxed.

I'm having a lot of my normal meetings over zoom now (e.g. talking to my scientific collaborators and getting together with others to talk about new research), which makes like seem a bit more normal. Are you virtually getting together as a class? How does that work?

bhstaborspring2020 project1.2 Kate Ostevik Apr 6, 2020

It's really good to hear that some of you are learning how to manage your time during this weird situation.

What strategies have you been using?

I've found that keeping to a schedule during the workweek (and changing out of…

more

It's really good to hear that some of you are learning how to manage your time during this weird situation.

What strategies have you been using?

I've found that keeping to a schedule during the workweek (and changing out of my pajamas first thing in the morning) has been really helpful. Also, I've been using the website Habitica to keep track of my tasks. It's fun because it "gamifies" a to-do list. 

bhstaborspring2020 project1.2 Kate Ostevik Apr 2, 2020

Hi!
 

I'm very sorry to hear that school is closed and that you won't be able to continue with your project as expected, but I hope that you are feeling safe and healthy at home. That's the most important thing right now.

Als…

more

Hi!
 

I'm very sorry to hear that school is closed and that you won't be able to continue with your project as expected, but I hope that you are feeling safe and healthy at home. That's the most important thing right now.

Also, Arin, it really sucks that softball has been canceled. That sounds like it would be really hard.

The University where I work is also closed to all in-person activities, and I've been staying home for the past two weeks. Overall, I feel very lucky because I can continue to do some of my work from home. For example, I have been reading scientific papers and doing statistical analyses on data sets that I collected earlier in the year. However, it is tricky to stay on track and to feel a clear separation between work and time to relax. 

One fun thing that I've started to do while at home is listening to podcasts while doing a puzzle. It's been a great distraction!

How have you all been feeling about this new situation? Has anyone else found a new indoor hobby or been learning a new skill (improving time management is a really great one!)?

I hope you are all well!

Kate