Our Outreach Activities

During the summer, high school students participate in independent research projects in our lab through the HUSSRP program, where they conduct projects mentored by Dr. Izquierdo and members of the lab in the area of plant-microbe interactions. Students go on to present their work at local, regional, national and international science fairs. One of our high school students has gone on to win First Place at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair (LISEF) for her work on beneficial plant microbes, and represented Long Island at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

Research students in my lab have also mentored local sixth graders on science fair projects where the questions were driven by the middle school students, while helping them address a question in the area of environmental microbiology.

We work with local growers, particularly in the Long Island wine industry, who have provided us with access to from their sites and samples from their fields. We provide them with chemical and biological data about their soils, including soil microbiome data in response to changes in their agricultural practices.

Our lab also participates in local beachgrass and dune ecosystem restoration events on Long Island, participating in the replanting of the beachgrass Ammophila breviligulata along the South Shore.

We have partnered with a number of local towns to also perform field work on these sites and provide demonstrations of field work in microbial ecology to some of their junior staff.