Laura S
- Research Program Mentor
MA at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill)
Expertise
Evolution, Genetics, Adaptation, Speciation, Natural Selection, Biodiversity, Phylogenetics, Evolutionary adaptions in response to climate change, Projects focused on analyzing the genetics underlying a specific phenotype or disease, Projects that focus on mining available data (such as collecting and analyzing downloadable genetic sequences from published research work)
Bio
My academic expertise is in evolutionary genetics, which means studying how evolution occurs on a genetic level. In particular, my research has focused on understanding the genetic basis of adaptive evolution and speciation. Adaptation and speciation are the driving factors that have led to the rich biodiversity we have on Earth. In the face of environmental change, it is more important than ever that we understand how species acquire new characteristics and how this drives species differentiation. I have approached these questions by using insect model systems (Drosophila species and Manduca sexta) to examine how species adapt to specialize on toxic food sources. I am experienced in genetic sequencing, gene expression analysis, genomic analysis, and behavioral assays (such as measuring food preference). For my Master’s thesis, I conducted a literature review and evaluated modern research results against Fisher's Geometric Model, which is a historic mathematical framework that predicts rates of adaptation to new environments. I can advise students on how the detailed molecular mechanisms of genetics integrate with the complex ecological context of the world over time. Professionally, I'm a project manager, which means I specialize in productivity, communication, and resourcefulness. I'm really enthusiastic about guiding students through the core process of developing, executing, and closing a successful project. I currently work as a STEM expert training AI models, and am always interested in exploring cutting-edge technologies and approaches. In addition, I'm passionate about art and creativity. I would love to help students explore the intersection of biology and art, especially in the context of data presentation, with a focus on education. Integrating science and art could range from creating effective graphs of data to showcase experiment results, building compelling research presentations, or creating new and accurate illustrations of biological processes for educational purposes by hand or with AI image generation. I'm here to support and encourage creativity and guide exploration!Project ideas
Creating Educational Biology Infographics
I'm passionate about creating aesthetically effective and biologically accurate data presentations. Scientific knowledge is always changing, and educational illustrations and graphs are slow in comparison to the rate of discovery. This project would focus on creating educational infographics that accurately describe biological processes. For information gathering in this project, you would review current scientific literature and determine your subject for presentation. You would find a gap in existing materials that you want to fill, such as wanting to provide illustrations and explanations of CRISPR-Cas9 mechanisms for a high school audience. You would compile primary literature to back up your claims, then create graphs or illustrations that adhere to the scientific evidence. A potential project outcome would be creating a simple website that provides biologically accurate infographics and illustrations on a specific research topic. Another potential project outcome would be creating a set of educational graphs and illustrations that cover a specific K-12 education rubric section, allowing educators to make modern scientific discoveries accessible to their students. The skills you gain from this project will allow you to effectively communicate your research throughout your career.
Reconstructing Covid-19 Strain Evolution
My expertise in phylogenetic analysis and mining existing genetic sequences can facilitate a project where you analyze and interpret genetic data. This research strategy allows you to gain hands-on experience exploring genetic analysis and interpretation. For example, the research could focus on Covid-19 by analyzing genetic sequences for different viral strains, estimating the relatedness between strains and their evolutionary history, and analyzing how genetic differences between strains align with different phenotypes (such as transmission rates). You would identify a research topic area, investigate what genetic sequences can be obtained publicly, and then learn how to compare and analyze these sequences by reading relevant literature. You would begin with a hypothesis, analyze the data, and then draw your own conclusions from your analysis. This level of analysis puts this type of project a step above. An ideal outcome from this project would be a research paper.