February - Project(s) Starting
This month marked the start of my first dissertation project! I’m studying the effects of heat waves and water restriction on zebra finch reproduction and physiology. Meanwhile, my labmate Meg has kicked off her study on their critical thermal limits. It’s an exciting time for our team as we collect new data on how birds navigate environmental stressors.
January - Portland SICB
I'm back on the West Coast for my third SICB in Portland, Oregon. It was my first time presenting on work that I completed while I have been doing my PhD at Auburn. The abstract was titled: In the heat of the moment: Sex-specific responses of zebra finches to acute heat exposure. It was wonderful meeting with lots of new people, while also being able to catch up with old friends.
December - Classes end and time for statistics
Teaching for the fall semester has ended and so have my class requirements for my PhD. With the semester ending in mid December I have had some time to focus on analyzing data from two previous experiements. I am excited to keep working on them.
November - First PhD committee meeting
I held my first PhD committee meeting this month. My committee is chaired by Dr. Haruka Wada, with Dr. Wendy Hood, Dr. Moisés Bernal, Dr. Natalie Gassman serving as members. Everything is off to a good start!
October - Masters Thesis Chapter Published!
More exciting news this month that my first chapter in my masters thesis was accepted and published in the Journal of Zoology!. Publication can be found here.
September - Oxidative stress project published!
We recieved exciting news this month that our project looking at oxidative damage levels after warm and cool thermal exposures across populations of Scelporous lizards was accepted in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Publication can be found here.
August - A new academic year
It is already time to start another semester, the summer months go by quickly. I am teaching a few sections of Auburn's Anatomy & Physiology lab this semester and I am excited to be teaching!
July - Minneapolis JMIH
I was invited to talk at the Herpetological League's sponsored symposium this year titled: Stress and Welfare in Organisms Throughout Lifetime. It was fun getting to present on my Master's work again!
June - New Techniques and Old Collaborations
I was able to travel to Bucknell University and learn from Kayla Lichtner on how to measure mitochondrial respiration in avian red blood cells.
May - CORT Assays
The semester ended and the Wada Lab was busy with lab work. We ran over fifteen 96-well plates to measure corticosterone from our previous experiements. A big thank you to Haruka and Meg for helping teach and run these assays!
April - Experiment Completion
After a crazy month and a half of sampling everyday, Meg and I completed our experiment. Now it is time for lab work and data analysis!
March - First Experiment with the Wada Lab
My labmate Meg and I ran my first experiment of my PhD career. We are studying how a five hour heat exposure can affect mitochondrial respiration in different tissues. Additionally we are studying how variables in the blood may change over this acute heat exposure.
February - Mitochondrial Isolations
A big thank you to Natalie Harris to teching me how to isolate mitchondria from skeletal muscle for our upcoming experiement. Looking forward to starting the experiment with my lab mate Meg
January - Atlanta SICB
I had a fun time at SICB in Atlanta this year. It was great being able to present on some of my masters work at the poster session. The abstract was titled: Influences of Developmental Temperature on Hatchling Metabolic Rates in Populations of The Prairie Lizard, Sceloporus consobrinus. Equally as fun, Nicole presented on a project that we have been working together titled: Investigation of Populational Resistance to Cold-Induced Oxidative Damage in a Lizard.
December - First Semester Complete
December was the end of my first semester as a PhD student. It was a great semester with lots of learning. Thank you to Dr. Geoff Hill for your amazing Mitonuclear ecology course and Dr. Todd Steury for your Advanced Analysis for Ecological Sciences course. Both were highlights of my semester.
November - Banding with the BCA
November always seems to be the craziest month of the semester, but I was able to find time to go out and learn bird banding techniques with Banding Colalition of the Americas (BCA). Big thank you to Emma Rhodes and her team for having me out! Check out all their cool work here.
October - Master's Project Is Published!
Exciting news, another publication! Travis, Tiffany, and I were excited to hear that our first project that we worked together on in the Robbins Lab was accepted! Publication can be found here.
September
First month of my PhD program flew by (as the beginning of semesters always do). Kev, Meg, and Haruka from the Wada lab have all been great in training me on the lab protocols and techniques. I am excited to begin research at Auburn!
August - Endings and New Beginnings
Another exciting month, my masters degree was conferred and I started my PhD program. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Robbins Lab and starting new research with the Wada Lab.
July - First Publication!
I was fortunate to have my first publication come out this month. It was an absolute blast working with the amazing collaborators Kayla, Bob, and Mark! Publication can be found here.