My post high school goals include: I plan to Major in Biochemistry and Minor in Astronomy. I would then like to get my PhD in Astrophysics and work as an Astrobiologist/botanist. I don't have a definitive plan in terms of what school but I'd like to go out of state.

STEM courses I have taken:

9th Grade: Honors Biology (2021-22)

10th Grade: Honors Chemistry, Astronomy (2022-23)

11th Grade: Honors Scientific Research (2023-24)

12th Grade : Honors Physics, (2024-25)

Current research overview: 

Hydra viridissima are small Cnidarians (Same phylum as Coral and Anemones) ranging from <1mm - 3mm. They maintain an endosymbiotic relationship with the algae Chlorella; the Hydra v. give the algae nitrogen and the algae give the Hydra v. glucose. This relationship allows the Hydra v. to survive in low food environments for longer. 

It has been found in animals such as coral that when they are exposed to higher temperature their algal counterparts (the symbionts) experience oxidative stress and damage the cells of the host (the coral in this case) this forces the coral to expel their algae becoming bleached. However without that algae they often die because they don't get enough nutrients without the algae helping them. There are times in which the coral can reabsorb the algae if the conditions return to normal but more and more that is becoming less common.

Hydra v. experiences a similar effect and so the aim of my research was to find a way to decrease the effects of bleaching and mortality rates in Hydra viridissima exposed to higher temperatures. My hope was that this could then be applied to helping coral and other aquatic holobionts (host and symbiont together) fight against climate change if only a little longer.

In order to help the Hydra v. survive longer I fed them antioxidants (astaxanthin) so that it would decrease the amount of oxidative stress in the algae and allow the Hydra v. to not only keep they algal concentrations but also survive longer after being exposed to heat.

Awards: 

• Gold Ribbon

• Blue Rossette Ribbon

• 2nd Place in Animal Science, Senior Devision.