Allison Gallagher & Nina Padro

Some advice from Nina...

"When you are looking for research, you should do something you're interested in and you actually will enjoy doing. Basically research is a hands on experience with things you want to be learning about, in depth. make sure that when you are looking for different labs, make sure you're not only dong it for the credit or for a good resume, but fr something you actually want to do. It takes a lot of time and effort so don't waste time on something you don't love."

Naomi Pajarillo

Naomi's first research project was in Dr. Janelle Couret’s lab, during the summer of her freshman year. It was focused on mosquito oviposition in different environments, and then shifted during the school semester to extracting eDNA from their habitats over time. In summer 2019 she gained experience in Dr. David Nelson’s lab where she assisted over 200+ hours measuring the effects of Vibrio species on shrimp in post larval stages whilst balancing a position as the coordinator for a diverse STEM fellowship of 18 students.

Some advice from Naomi...

"Currently, I am a MARC-U* (Maximizing Access to Research Careers for Undergraduate Student Researchers) trainee, so I am rotating between Dr. Angela Slitt's lab and Dr. Niall Howlett's lab. Looking back, the advice I would give to someone is that you should always test out labs outside of your comfort zone, and don't be afraid to reach out to a PI if you like their work!"

You can contact Naomi Pajarillo with questions about her experiences in various labs through email: paj_naomi@my.uri.edu

Caitlin Guccione

Caitlin worked in Dr. Rachel Schwartz's lab. She entered the lab with an interest in bioinformatics/computational biology. Caitlin participated in a summer REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) at the University of Notre Dame, and presented her research via a poster at URI, where she networked and was recommended to look into Dr. Rachel Schwartz's lab. Caitlin then sent Dr. Schwartz an email introducing herself, her experience, and background, along with why she wanted to work in her lab. This email eventually led to Caitlin being invited to work in Dr. Schwartz's lab.

Some advice from Caitlin...

"I would highly recommend reaching out to professors and learning more about their research. I think everyone should try working in a lab once and see what it is like. I have learned more working in Schwartz lab than I have in most of my classes because it forces you to jump right in and learn by experimenting, which is much more effective."

Caitlin is now a PhD student in Bioinformatics at UC San Diego.

Emily McDermith

Emily worked in Dr. Bethany Jenkin's lab. She entered the lab with little training and was mentored by PhD Candidate, Alexa Sterling. She learned how to streak bacteria for isolation, extract DNA from the bacteria and submit them for sequencing. Emily also had the opportunity to build field work skills by helping filter water from Narragansett Bay to capture phytoplankton on filters and count cells under a microscope. In addition, working in research has given her the opportunity to go on a 2 week research cruise which traveled from Bermuda to RI. As she progressed during her undergraduate years, Emily moved away from bench work to analysis coding and using different programs.

Some advice from Emily...

"Don't be afraid to reach out to a professor your freshman or sophomore year! Getting involved in research early on has allowed me to get the skills and understanding down to go to research conferences and do my own project as an undergraduate. It's also helped me immensely in my undergraduate courses. It's made the subjects more interesting because I can understand more how what I'm learning about is being used in the field. Also, find a professor who is doing something you think you may be interested in because that's what will make research exciting to you!"

You can contact Emily McDermith with questions about her experience in the lab through email: Emily_McDermith@my.uri.edu