Hi everyone! I am Gina Magro and I am originally from Tower Lakes, Illinois. I am currently attending UW-Stevens Point as a rising senior studying Biology and minoring in French. I have grown up playing lots of sports and spending most of my time outdoors. I love to fish, hike, camp, fly fish, and explore the outdoors. I moved 2,256 miles away from home for these 9 weeks for the chance to learn about the researching process and about marine life that I would have otherwise never seen. In this first week at OIMB, making the decision to go to the west coast has been such a cool experience. Adventuring the tide pools has been one of my favorite things to do so far here, as I could never have seen barnacles, starfish, anemones, etc. without taking a very (very) long drive west. I never thought that anemones were so squishy when they're out of water! Here are some friends I have found so far! I began research because I like the opportunity to answer questions that are unknown. Being able to describe things that no one else knows yet along with the 'how' and 'why' behind what is around us. Previously, at UW-Stevens Point, I have been apart of a parasitology lab. Focusing on the trematode parasite population in Scaup(a type of bird) from the Green Bay WI, area. There we were focusing on finding new and invasive flat worm parasite species. At OIMB, I am in George von Dassow’s lab, looking at the beginning portion of the barnacles' lives. In this first week, I have learned about the basic development of embryos focusing on local barnacle species. Leading us to some possible research questions, which includes investigating how the sperm finds the nucleus within the female egg and/or tracking early developing cells to see what part of the barnacle body they become. We were able to get out of the lab and go to Lighthouse Beach to collect Acorn and Gooseneck barnacles! Not only am I excited to work with barnacle embryos, but as well as to meet others in a scientific community. It has been fun to learn of the other REU’s stories of how they got into science, where they are from in the world, and what they want to be when they grow up. This is the first time I have ever been fully immersed into science and I am loving it! Everyone has been so nice and welcoming, it makes it so easy to move across the country. This past weekend we went on a camping trip together as a group! There was perfect weather the whole weekend and really helped all of us make friendships. You can see below Sherlyn and I in our wetsuits exploring! Sherlyn and I are lab partners and will be working together all summer! Above you can see us playing Spikeball on the beach, going on a hike and seeing beautiful views, seeing a group of elephants seals/sea lions, and (not pictured) even a grey whale! Every 10 feet it felt like there was a whole new view. It was hard to not stop and take pictures all the time!
Plus, here’s a few more pictures of some beautiful views just around campus!
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AuthorHello I am Gina Magro, currently attending University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. I am studying Biology with a minor in French as a senior this fall. Archives
August 2022
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