Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  University of California - Davis

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am interested in crop improvement using biotechnology and tissue culture techniques. With the world population growing and food demand increasing, sustainable farming practices and crops are needed. Molecular genetics has always seemed intriguing to me. It is a constantly evolving field with a vast amount of information waiting to be discovered. Along with genetics, more specifically, I am interested in pathology and improving disease resistance of plants through genetic engineering. My current project focuses on improving resistance to Aspergillus in peanut.

  
  
• 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):

  From a young age I was always interested in science, but it was my first day of biology class when my passion for science manifested. It was then that I knew I wanted to go into biology. Everything about the subject was so interesting to me and I always wanted to learn more. Originally, I wanted to work with animals, but throughout high school my interest began switching to plants, specifically crops. I grew up helping my dad farm and have witnessed the struggle of losing crops to both abiotic and biotic pressures. My current and early formed passion has stemmed from wanting to help farmers like my dad by developing sustainable and resistant crops.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  The best part about being a scientist is letting your imagination take you down new paths. A science career is all about coming up with new ideas and testing those ideas. Without new ideas, science wouldn't be advancing the way it is. Being a scientist means running into problems and figuring a solution to those problems. However, it also means continually getting to learn and discover new things. I have been working in a lab for 5 years, and still learn new techniques almost every week. The lab is a great environment for someone who loves to learn.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

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

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

  The biggest lesson I have learned while pursuing my graduate degree is not to give up. In science, things fail. It can be intimidating and frustrating, but once you get the result you've been waiting for, all the frustration is worth it. I have learned it takes time to become proficient and something and patience really is a virtue. Scientific discoveries take time, but you learn so much along the way.

  
  
• Help represent the outreach efforts of your societies. Please click all those organizations you are a member of:

  (not set)

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

Team Garden Planters Tawni Ann Bull Oct 19, 2021

These look great - this is good example of qualitative data! How do you plan to measure/collect quantitative data (i.e. numerical data)?

The circle of life Tawni Ann Bull Oct 19, 2021

Hi Katrina,

These look like great results so far! What do you think is happening? Do you think the seed color has this big of an affect or is there something else (maybe from the environment) that could be causing this difference. 

Do you…

more

Hi Katrina,

These look like great results so far! What do you think is happening? Do you think the seed color has this big of an affect or is there something else (maybe from the environment) that could be causing this difference. 

Do you have plans on how your are going to collect data?

Team Garden Planters Tawni Ann Bull Oct 7, 2021

Thank you for the pictures, Andrew! Could you explain what we are looking at here?