Hi my name is Andrew, I got my luggage (finally), my vaccine, and I’m ready to go! Originally from sunny San Diego, I’ve been studying Biology in landlocked Pennsylvania at Villanova University for the past three years, so I am excited to be back on the West Coast (Best Coast) and doing research at OIMB this summer! At Villanova I work in a lab focusing on the Pacific purple urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, and their adhesive tube feet. I am a big sea urchin nerd, but this summer I will be trading calcite spines for aragonite shells and working with chitons. I will be working in Dr. Emlet’s lab studying their larval development. In particular, I will be focusing on mysterious crystals that form near and possibly within the larval kidneys. Many animals have two sets of kidneys during their lifetime, and chiton are no exception. The larval kidney only exists for a short time, which may mean these crystals are associated with their failure or simply chiton kidney stones! But all this is a bunch of maybes, we really don’t know much about these crystals. My work will focus on how chemical environments (e.g. different salinity) affect the growth and appearance (or disappearance) of these crystals. I will also look into what these crystals are made of. I am excited to work with a new animal and life history stage and am already feeling the call to chiton nerdy-ness as well. I have really enjoyed the first two weeks at OIMB and meeting all the other REU students. In the Emlet lab there are two other REU students, Alondra and Nick, working on juvenile sand dollars and barnacle larvae, respectively. It’s been great to go towing for plankton and discussing experimental design with them. I am looking forward to going on more trips to look for chitons with them and learning more about their projects. A really special moment for me this week was seeing purple urchins at the field sites of Dr. Tom Ebert, who mentored my professor at Villanova. I had only ever read about the site and to see it in-person with its relevance to my research experience was pretty profound.
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AuthorI'm a rising fourth year at Villanova University in Pennsylvania from San Diego, California. I enjoy going tidepooling and making music. I'm looking forward to a great summer at OIMB! Archives
August 2021
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