My name is Matthew Mullins and I am originally from Birmingham, Alabama. After going to high school in Birmingham, I decided to follow my dreams of becoming a marine biologist in the one place that sounded the best suited for that field, the Caribbean. I moved to St. Thomas to attend the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). Four weeks after starting classes, the largest recorded hurricane in the Atlantic hit St. Thomas directly destroying the island I was just starting to call home. After a couple weeks of post-hurricane madness, I was lucky enough to get off the island and back home before another category 5 hurricane hit the Caribbean. It took the university over a month to get power, water, and classes running again, but I came back to help in relief effort and resume classes. Although there have been many challenges, I have stayed on St. Thomas getting an educational experience unlike any other. I have become very involved in UVI’s marine biology program and have been fortunate enough to participate in various research projects throughout my time there. These opportunities have led me to become very passionate about conducting marine research. I want to get as much research experience as possible and explore different fields so that I can find what area of research I am passionate in, and that is why I applied for this REU program. After my first week here at OIMB there is one fact that is obvious. I am not in the Caribbean anymore. But to my surprise, the Oregon coast has already blown me away with its beauty. Yes, I may have to put on multiple layers to go outside and my tan may not be as good but the few places I have explored this week are unlike any place I have experienced before. OIMB has exceeded my expectations and has proven to be a very comfortable and easy-going place to live. The community is very close-knit and everyone I have met so far is extremely helpful and kind. My mentor is Dr. Craig Young and the plan for what research we are going to do this summer has seemed to change every day, and that’s just how I like it. Constantly, we are finding something new interesting to study. We originally planned on doing feeding experiments with a deep-sea urchin, the fragile pink urchin (S. fragilis). But, when we started placing them into a flume with warmer water, they became stressed and began to spawn. This changed everything! Since we are able to get gametes from the urchins, we can now create a culture and track the stages of development, which has not been properly done before. So, we end our first amazing week with a long night of continuously watching the embryos form and documenting every stage!
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AuthorMy name is Matthew Mullins and I am from Birmingham, AL. I am currently a rising junior studying marine biology at the University of the Virgin Islands. I am working in Dr. Young’s lab and I’m looking forward to exploring the Oregon coast and getting some interesting research experience! Archives
August 2019
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