Ariana (she/her/hers) is a senior majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology with minors in Political Science and Environmental Studies. She is a campus change student from the UConn Stamford campus and a three-time participant of UConn Alternative Breaks.
She became involved with research the summer after her Sophomore year through the University of North Florida’s Costal Biology Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. There she worked under the supervision of Dr. Frank Smith researching the evolution of gut patterning of Tardigrades.
At the start of her Junior year, she then returned to UConn worked as an undergraduate research assistant and animal care technician in the Jockusch Lab. There she studied body wall evolution of Hemipterans using RNA interference techniques. She then received the SURF Award in summer 2020 where she planned to study the function of three genes in Oncopeltus fasciatus. Due to COVID shutdowns she then decided to study the evolution of the insulin signaling pathway in insects using bioinformatics techniques.
Ariana has also presented her research at Fall Frontiers 2019, the annual SICB Conference 2020, and Ocean Sciences meeting 2020. She has received travel grants to present her research, including the OUR Conference Presentation Award, the SICB Charlotte Mangnum award, and membership to the ALSO Multicultural program
If you have any questions or concerns about getting involved in research as a transfer student, REU programs, or presenting your research please reach out to her!
Student Research Blog Posts by Ariana: