#IAmScience
Jan. 5, 2018
Suman Gurung #IAmScience
Suman Gurung, a Developmental Neurology Ph.D candidate, stands in front of the zebra fish he studies. Gurung works in the Chandrasekhar lab at Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center #IAmScience “because it allows me to get involved in our quest to understand how the brain develops.” The smallest discoveries often yield the greatest rewards when it comes to science. Suman Gurung, a Ph.D. candidate in the Division of Biological Sciences, is well aware of that. Gurung works to uncover those small discoveries through the movement of…
Dec. 29, 2017
Madison Ortega #IAmScience
Madison Ortega, a junior biology major, works in the Rosenfeld lab at Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center “#IAmScience because research gives me an avenue to explore my curiosity and possibly discover something groundbreaking.” Research is all about discovering the answers to the unknown, pushing boundaries and exploring the depths of the field. As a junior biology major, Madison Ortega is already getting a taste of that. Her freshman year, Ortega got a brochure for the Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity program (IMSD). This program encourages…
Dec. 15, 2017
Janlo Robil #IAmScience
Janlo Robil, a Ph.D. candidate in Plant Developmental Genetics, admires one of his plants. Robil works in the McSteen lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond Life Sciences Center “#IAmScience because adding a small puzzle piece to the bigger picture is my source of joy.” Janlo Robil found himself with a difficult decision when he entered a master’s program at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. His passion for insects made him want to pursue entomology, but the lack of coursework in the area made him consider…
Dec. 8, 2017
Madeline McFarland #IAmScience
Madeline McFarland, a senior biochemistry major, works in the Burke Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC Science isn’t limited to the lab. It’s more of a mindset than a discipline, and Madeline McFarland knows this all too well. As a senior biochemistry major working in Donald Burke’s lab in Bond LSC, McFarland experiments with ribonucleic acid (RNA) to study the origin of life before DNA and protein served as genetic material and catalyst, respectively. “I’m interested in the RNA World Hypothesis and how RNA may have played a role in getting…
Dec. 1, 2017
Makenzie Mabry #IAmScience
Makenzie Mabry, a Ph.D. candidate, works in the Pires Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC For Makenzie Mabry, every day is a new puzzle when it comes to science. That desire to solve new problems led her from wanting to be a veterinarian to considering much less cuddly focus in plants. “I think the beautiful thing about research is that it evolves itself,” Mabry said. Although she had an acceptance letter to vet school in tow, she altered her career path to work with a new passion: plants. That led her…
Nov. 22, 2017
Kris Budd #IAmScience
Kris Budd, a Ph.D. candidate in Lori Eggert’s lab, works with Bond LSC to track elephant DNA in Southeast Asia. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I have the ability to transform the fate of endangered species.” If someone had told Kris Budd that she’d be investigating elephant feces on daily basis in her Ph.D. program, she wouldn’t have bought it. If they’d said she’d realize it’s a passion of hers, she would’ve been in shock. As a third year Ph.D. candidate in Lori Eggert’s lab, Budd is able to do meaningful…
Nov. 17, 2017
Lisa Caesar #IAmScience
Lisa Caesar is a biological sciences Ph.D. candidate who works in Laura Schulz’s lab. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because education and my pursuit of learning became my ticket out of poverty and a way that I can really help others.” “Mother knows best” rings true for Gerialisa Caesar. In her family, the career options were either to be a lawyer, engineer or doctor. But with little interest in law and a greater love for science than math, Caesar decided to pursue her doctorate. “I graduated high school at 16 fully…
Nov. 10, 2017
Julia Brose #IAmScience
Julia Brose is a senior studying biochemistry at Mizzou. She works in Chris Pires lab in Bond LSC. | Photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I really enjoy discovering and being around people who cultivate a positive learning environment.” As a freshman at Mizzou four years ago, Julia Brose knew she had a love for plants. That, however, competed with her fascination with biochemistry. Luckily, she found and was selected for FRIPS, Freshman Research in Plant Sciences, which allowed her to do both. The program is made up of 10 freshman each year…
Nov. 3, 2017
Marianne Emery #IAmScience
Marianne Emery is a Ph.D. candidate in Ruthie Angelovici’s Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because it leads to innovation that makes for a better world, which is an awesome thing to be a part of.” It’s good to have a role model, and Marianne Emery has always looked up to female pioneer scientists. One of her favorites is Barbara McClintock, a Nobel prize winning botantist who studied how the chromosomes of corn change during reproduction. It is from women like McClintock that Emery is encouraged to always be impactful…
Oct. 27, 2017
Vivek Shrestha #IAmScience
Vivek Shrestha, a Ph. D candidate, works in Dr. Ruthie Angelovici’s lab at Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because it provides me with a platform to make that which seems impossible possible.” Agriculture is a mainstay in Nepal, where Vivek Shrestha was born and raised. He grew up in a small farming family, but he was surprised that although a significant portion of the country was involved with agriculture, food insecurity was prevalent. “Nepal is a small, developing nation that is naturally beautiful,” Shrestha said. “Agriculture is huge, but still…
Oct. 20, 2017
Ronnie LaCombe #IAmScience
Ronnie LaCombe, a Ph. D candidate in biological sciences at MU, stands near her lab station in D Cornelison’s lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I feel most alive when I’m talking to people, both in and out of my field, about my work.” While other kids were playing with Legos and dolls, Ronnie LaCombe was exploring the world through a microscope. Alongside her cousins, LaCombe used science at an early age as both a way of learning and for entertainment. “I’ve…
Oct. 13, 2017
Katy Guthrie #IAmScience
Katy Guthrie, a Ph.D. candidate, works in Dr. Paula McSteen’s lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC By Allison Scott | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I want to take the knowledge I gain and teach it to other young scientists so they share in this excitement, too.” Katy Guthrie grew up as one of five girls. All five sisters took very different paths —one ended up in hospital management, another in marketing and advertising, one became an engineer and the other works in logistics for a start up. But Guthrie took a…