If you had asked me a year ago what I thought my future in research would look like I likely would’ve answered with a shrug and even questioned whether research is the path I would be most interested in pursuing. Living in the “time of Corona” has made the concept of a future career hazy. Now, that’s not to say I did not fantasize about where I saw myself in ten years, but when almost half of your under-graduate experience is spent attempting to learn organic chemistry mechanisms and the kinematics of biochemistry through a 13-inch laptop screen, the future seems like a faraway ship floating somewhere off in the distance. So, when I took a random shot and applied for this REU, I didn’t think much of the potential that receiving this position would provide for me to expand and learn more about the different areas of marine biology I had never even considered before. As a brief introduction, hi! My name is MaKenzie Drowns and I am currently a fourth-year student at the University of Georgia. I am a biochemistry major and am pursuing both a biology and linguistics major as well. Throughout my time at UGA I have had the opportunity to conduct research on both poplar and tobacco plants to identify a new way to make genetic edits to these plants that would allow for new genetically modified plants to be generated faster than previous methods have allowed. I enjoy reading, listening to music, and generally just spending time in nature. While I have never before worked with marine organisms, I am very excited to work with George von Dassow in his lab and use some of the skills I have previously acquired through research to grow and develop an understanding of cells and embryos. This summer, under the advisement of Dr. von Dassow I will be potentially tackling two very interesting ideas. The first would be delivering a calcium sensor to sea star larvae to detect electrical signaling of cells that line the surface of their bodies. We will expose the larvae to different stimuli and through video imaging of larvae see how their skin cells signal or “message” each other electrically as a response to these stimuli in the near-field fluid zone, i.e. the area of water near the larvae’s surface. The second project will also be using sea star eggs to see how caffeine treatment can cause sea star eggs to develop into cells that have twice as many chromosomes as normal sea star eggs. We will be looking at caffeine’s influence on sea star meiosis and looking into whether there are any effects on mitosis, as well as whether caffeine also affects the layer of protein underlying the plasma membrane in cells responsible for different functions such as controlling the shape of a cell. While I’ve been doing a lot of learning these past two weeks, I haven’t been ‘trapped’ in some dark corner of the lab and have had the opportunity to do some pretty fun stuff outside. Only my first week at OIMB, a random trip to watch the sunset at Simpson’s Reef resulted in a killer whale sighting! Not only one, but a pod! Some have lived here 6 years and only seen orcas once, so it’s pretty safe to say this experience started out on the right foot. I also had the chance to ride out to the bay with my fellow REU interns and catch some pretty big dungeness crabs (yum lol), even though we had to toss them back. I’ve explored tunnels and hiking trails, we even stumbled upon an old air force lookout with some pretty rad looking local art. I can say with confidence these past two weeks have been an experience I won’t take for granted. I can’t wait to update you guys next week on just what I’ve been up to at OIMB! :)
1 Comment
Doris G. Rogers
6/30/2021 07:47:47 pm
So glad to read your first Blog and look forward to more. You are such an example of what my grand kids do. I'm very proud of you. Keep up the good work.
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