University of Missouri

May 18, 2018

Maria Boftsi #IAmScience

Maria Boftsi, a Ph. D candidate, stands near her lab station in the Pintel Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC   By Allison Scott | Bond LSC Change is hard. Especially when you’re comparing weather, like Maria Boftsi, a second year Ph.D. student in the Pintel Lab at Bond LSC, did. From the sunny skies of a small town in Northern Greece, where she’s originally from, to the contrastingly harsh winter of mid-Missouri, Boftsi was in for a lot of change when she came to Mizzou. “The summer after…

May 10, 2018

Vivariums and The Hidden Metropolis Beneath Bond LSC

  Bond LSC Facility Manager Dana Weir observes a family of rats in one of the vivariums. Photo by Raye Allen By Madelyne Maag You’ve heard of aquariums and terrariums, but probably not of a vivarium before. These enclosed structures take on a whole new meaning when science is brought into the picture. And little do people know when they walk across the main floor of Bond LSC, they are walking above a city-like work space where the occupants work to improve our lives. Vivariums functions as cubicles, condominiums and daycare centers for the rodents that live within…

May 3, 2018

Mark Schroeder #IAmScience

Mark Schroeder, a Ph.D. candidate, works in Lloyd Sumner’s lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I like to learn how things work from the deepest level.” For most people, a television breaking or a computer shutting down is annoying at best. It means they’ll have to embark on the often drawn out process of choosing a newer, more expensive version to purchase. Fortunately, Mark Schroeder isn’t most people. “If I have something that breaks, I’ll take it apart just to see if I can put it back together,”…

April 27, 2018

Ben Spears #IAmScience

Ben Spears, a Ph.D. candidate, works in the Gassmann Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because science is like solving a puzzle, and I can take any scientific question and boil the results down to chip away at much greater puzzles.” By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center Like a lot of science majors, Ben Spears had plans to go to medical school after graduating with his bachelor’s degree. That is until he realized the very sight of blood makes his stomach turn. So, it was back to…

April 20, 2018

Sam Smith #IAmScience

Sam Smith, a freshman plant sciences major, works in Walter Gassmann’s lab in Bond LSC. | Photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I overcame my doubts and was able to find my place within the field.” By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center It’s no secret that science is intimidating. The test tubes, white coats and field-specific jargon paint a picture of a field that’s difficult — sometimes too difficult for some people to imagine themselves being in. Sam Smith, a freshman studying plant sciences through the Freshman Research in Plant Science…

April 13, 2018

Biosafety Breakdown: Understanding the safety precautions taken by labs working with viruses

Graduate student Yuleum Song prepares cells for viral infection in the BL-2 hood. | Image by Jennifer Lu, Bond LSC By Madelyne Maag | Bond Life Sciences Center Viruses can be nasty things and scientists have to take precautions. You might think of researchers in floor-length lab coats, safety goggles, and plastic gloves or even the more extreme look of bulky, yellow hazmat suits similar to what Jim Hopper wear in Stranger Things. But, depending on the type of viruses being handled, these stereotypes aren’t quite the truth. For labs like that of Marc Johnson in Bond…

April 6, 2018

Garren Powell #IAmScience

Garren Powell is a freshman involved in research through the Freshman Research in Plant Sciences (FRIPS) program. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because research helps fulfill the curiosity I have for learning about the world around me.” By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center Some people spend their whole lives trying to figure out what they want to do. Garren Powell, however, has known that science was his route for as long as he can remember. “As a kid I was always the one doing my own little science experiments at…

March 30, 2018

Maddie Willis #IAmScience

Maddie Willis, a senior biochemistry major, works in the Burke Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center Setting a routine makes everything easier. However, changes to a set routine often leads to complications. For Maddie Willis, a senior biochemistry major, that change came in the form of working in different labs and learning their unique styles and areas of emphasis. She started in Lori Eggert’s lab freshman year and switched into Frank Schmidt’s lab for the next two years before changing labs a final…

March 23, 2018

At halfway mark, Mizzou scientists look to quench thirst for understanding drought’s impact on corn roots

  Shannon King, a Ph.D. candidate in Biochemistry from the Peck Lab in Bond LSC, gives instructions as faculty and students prepare to harvest root samples for later experiments. | photo by MJ Rogers, Roots in Drought Project By Madelyne Maag | Bond Life Sciences Center If you’ve ever sat down on a beach, then there is a good chance that you’ve stretched your fingers into the sand, like a plant spreading its roots underground. By sinking deeper into the sand, your fingers are bound to encounter cool, damp sand, where water is more abundant and available to…

March 21, 2018

Laura Greeley #IAmScience

Laura Greeley, a postdoc, works in the Peck Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center “#IAmScience because I’ve been able to build upon my experiences and explore science in a new, exciting way.” High school is a weird time for most people because everyone’s trying to figure out where they fit. Laura Greeley was ahead of her time, though. She uncovered important truths about her passions back then, and the postdoc in Scott Peck’s lab at Bond LSC hasn’t looked back since. “In high school,…

March 16, 2018

Tyler McCubbin #IAmScience

Tyler McCubbin, a Ph.D. candidate, collaborates with the Peck Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center “#IAmScience because I am passionate about solving real world problems with creative solutions.” A lot of people get signs as a guide for the direction they’re supposed to take in life. Tyler McCubbin’s sign was more literal. “There was a giant billboard alongside a county road and it said ‘Pray for Rain,’ and it’s probably still there,” McCubbin said. “Seeing that at the height of the drought was inspiring.

March 9, 2018

Chris Zachary #IAmScience

Chris Zachary, a junior chemistry major, stands near his lab station in the Mendoza Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center “#IAmScience because the lessons I learn through research will help me to one day become an astronaut.” Asking kids what they want to be when they grow up usually leads to a variety of answers: doctor, lawyer, president, astronaut. A few years down the line, though, most of those answers change. Chris Zachary, a junior chemistry major, is the exception. He never outgrew…