Meet the PRAs: Stephanie Schofield

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Meet Stephanie Schofield ’23, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology and minoring in Psychological Sciences and Chemistry.

Meet the PRAs - Stephanie.What is the focus of your research?

I currently do research in Dr. Wendy Mok’s lab at UConn Health where I am focusing on microbial interactions and their impacts on antibiotic treatment response.

Why did you get involved in research?

To start, I have really enjoyed my major-related courses so far at UConn and from the start of my college career, I always knew I wanted to get involved in research. I am super passionate about my education and I enjoy learning, so I wanted to take it to the next level. I am also a big hands-on learner, so furthering my education through research was a rewarding idea to me. Continue reading →

I Don’t Understand Anything in These Papers!

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By Michelle Antony, Peer Research AmbassadorI Don't Understand Anything in These Papers! By PRA Michelle.

Imagine this scenario: you’re eager to participate in undergraduate research and find a professor whose work interests you. You come across one of their papers and once you open it up, it’s in an alien language. This situation is all too familiar to many undergraduates (including myself). Hopefully, this how-to guide with some tips that have helped me in my research journey will be of use to you. Continue reading →

Meet the PRAs: Mahima Mehta

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Meet Mahima Mehta ’22, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology and minoring in Spanish.

Meet the PRAs: Mahima.What is the focus of your research?

I have been working in Dr. Sarah Knutie’s lab since January 2020 as a member of the Nest Parasite Community Science Study. In this project, I quantify parasite abundance in the nests of eastern bluebirds and tree swallows to understand the effects of local ecology on the evolution of hosts and their nest parasites.

As someone who has always been interested in climate change and DNA, the focus of my UConn IDEA Grant project is to understand how elevated nest temperatures impact the DNA methylation of eastern bluebirds. We often see the physical effects of climate change: unusual snowstorms, devastating fires, and destruction of habitats- but what genotypic impact does this have? In my project, I will be investigating why it is adaptive for these birds to have changes in methylation in response to temperature and if this is helping them over their lifetime. Continue reading →

Meet the PRAs: Chloe Zampetti

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Meet Chloe Zampetti ’22, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Natural Resources.

Meet the PRAs - Chloe.What is the focus of your research?

My research is focused on interactions between elements mercury and selenium in fish. There is a theory that when there is more selenium present than mercury within a fish, the selenium can cancel out mercury toxicity by binding up all of the mercury, making it safe for human consumers. This is a really cool concept and would have lots of implications for human health, but there are some aspects to the research that could use updating and further attention.

With my research, I want to see how measures of human health risk based on selenium and mercury concentrations compare to metrics based on mercury concentrations alone. This way, I can emphasize the importance of understanding selenium’s potential ability to mitigate mercury toxicity before it is considered an official metric of human health risk via fish consumption. Continue reading →

Not All Labs Have Four Walls

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Not All Labs Have Four Walls. By PRA Drew.By Drew Tienken, Peer Research Ambassador

Think about what you envision when you think of a student research experience. You might imagine someone with a white lab coat hunched over a test tube and meticulously pipetting solutions in search of data. Maybe you think of the lab itself, a pristine little box of four walls full of intimidating equipment and complicated scientific machinery. When imagining what you want your research experience to look like, I challenge you to fight the stigma of this research stereotype, and realize that not all labs have to have four walls. Continue reading →

Meet the PRAs: Lauren Rudin

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Meet Lauren Rudin ’22, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Exercise Science and minoring in Biological Sciences.

Meet the PRAs - Lauren.What is the focus of your research?

“Fitbit-Derived and Self-Reported Sleep Quality and Gestational Weight Gain in Women with Overweight or Obesity”, supervised by Dr. Molly Waring and funded by a UConn IDEA Grant, is comparing Fitbit-derived and self-reported sleep quality among pregnant women in their third trimester with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity who gained gestational weight within or above recommended ranges. The aims are to assess how well the two sleep measures agree and to identify the potential use of a Fitbit device to assess sleep during pregnancy.

“Professional Exercise Recommendations for Healthy Women Who Are Pregnant: A Systematic Review”, supervised by Dr. Linda Pescatello, is assessing existing professional exercise recommendations for healthy pregnant women to formulate a consensus exercise prescription to better inform clinicians on an appropriate exercise program for pregnant patients without contraindications to exercise. Continue reading →

Meet the PRAs: Kynza Khimani

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Meet Kynza Khimani ’22, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Physiology & Neurobiology and Global Health.

Meet the PRAs - Kynza.What is the focus of your research?

My current research for my UConn IDEA Grant project focuses on studying the accessibility and barriers faced by families with children afflicted with Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) in the implementation of healthy diets using a survey and interviewing physicians who treat PANS patients. PANS is an increasingly prevalent chronic condition that can manifest in children as severe OCD and anxiety, disordered eating, and developmental deficits. Because PANS symptoms are often a result of neuroinflammation and gut dysbiosis, studies suggest that replacing industrialized foods with an all-organic, gluten and dairy-free diet is often vital for treatment. Continue reading →

Approaching Research With a Positive Mindset

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Approaching Research With a Positive Mindset. By PRA Stephanie.By Stephanie Schofield, Peer Research Ambassador

It’s the start of another busy and hectic semester, and there’s no doubt that you’re probably feeling overwhelmed at that massive list of things you must conquer. Moving back into a dorm, figuring out where your classes are, reading syllabi, thinking about that first chemistry exam you want to ace…. It feels never ending, right?! And on top of all of that, you want to get involved in research. How on earth are you going to manage all of it?

The answer: you are, and you’re going to manage it all much better than you give yourself credit. So, take a deep breath, and know it will all work out! Continue reading →

Research Assistant in Global Environmental Remote Sensing in the GERS Lab

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Opportunity Description

This research project investigates using satellite images for mapping global environmental change, climate change, and sustainability. We will use dense time series of satellite data acquired during day and night time to monitoring, assessment, and projecting landscape change at large scales. More information regarding the GERS Laboratory can be found at this link: https://gerslab.uconn.edu/

We work together with concepts from environmental science, machining learning, climate change, remote sensing, and image processing within a rich interdisciplinary field. We have several projects all focused on mapping and characterizing land change at a continental or global scale. Our lab works closely with scientists from USGS and NASA. As an undergraduate research assistant, you would aid primarily in image interpretation, as well as potentially develop algorithms for Earth observation.

You are expected to receive training to use a high-performance computing facility to process satellite data, aided by a graduate student/postdoc researcher mentor. Once you have gained the knowledge in using remote sensing data, you will be able to collect satellite data in your own interest area and apply remote sensing techniques to extract useful information. The time commitment is flexible and is minimal for a semester (renewal for the future semesters is possible and encouraged). The assistantship will start in the summer of 2021 and going forward. RAs will receive research course credits and authorship (if published) as compensation for the work.

Student Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications (but not limited to):
– Basic knowledge of remote sensing and use of satellite data (e.g., have taken the NRE Remote Sensing of Environment course)
– Experience with programming languages (Matlab, R, Python, or others).
– Strong interest in find answers to big science questions.

How to Apply
Please email zhe@uconn.edu and include a brief description of why you are applying for this position and a resume. Strong applicants will go through a virtual or face-to-face interview with the faculty.

Mentor: Zhe Zhu, Assistant Professor
Department: Natural Resources and the Environment
Email: zhe@uconn.edu
Timing: Summer 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Ongoing
Campus: Storrs

Graduating PRA Spotlight: Ally Bettencourt ’21

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PRA Grad Reflections - Ally Bettencourt.Alexandra (Ally) Bettencourt ’21
Pathobiology & Animal Science
2020-21 OUR Peer Research Ambassador

My Journey:

When I first came to UConn as a freshman, I must admit that I was one of the many pre-professional freshmen that thought undergraduate research was just a box to check off when applying for professional school. I could not have been more wrong! When an opportunity presented itself through a club’s email listserv at the end of my freshman year, I jumped on it, having no idea the path that it would lead me on. Continue reading →