TALENT

My first year in Boyle’s Lab was mainly shadowing one of the graduate students and running experiments with her. After researching various wastewater “recipes,” we decided to create a synthetic wastewater media that mimicked diluted piggery wastewater. The recipe we used closely followed a recipe in another research paper; this experience taught me the process of reviewing papers and following the methods to recreate an experiment. We compared lipid, carbohydrate, and protein content of algae grown in this synthetic wastewater to algae grown in a high-nutrient media called CORE. Through this, I learned how to use a spectrophotometer and how to find when the algae reached its exponential phase in its growth curve to harvest. Additionally, I learned how to use different assay kits, machinery, and tools to extract the different nutrients we looked at. If it was my first or second time using a specific piece of equipment or doing a certain technique I would work alongside the graduate student. However, by the third time, I could complete the practice individually. Alongside this main experiment, I acquired practice using the microscope, creating agar plates to swab algae on, inoculating agar plates and flasks, and presenting my research. At the end of this experiment, I individually wrote a report—reviewed by Dr. Boyle and the graduate student I worked with—over the work I completed. Although the research I completed wasn’t publishable, this experience gave me practice writing and reviewing the work I completed. I know this will help me when I publish in the future.

During my second year in Boyle’s Lab, I have been working individually. For the fall semester of 2022, Dr. Boyle allowed me to research whatever I was interested in given that it was biofuel research. This freedom both excited me and terrified me. I was excited that I could research something I was interested in but was terrified about finding the “right” topic to research. Throughout my education–especially in class labs–I followed procedures and goals that were written out for me to follow. Although I believe this helped refine my technical skills, it didn’t allow me to experience a real research setting; real research doesn’t have a set problem with predefined methods. I decided I was going to lean into learning this overlooked skill. I read many research papers about algal biofuels, ranging from using nanoparticles or different light cycles to genetically modifying the algae. The more I felt stuck with not knowing what I wanted to research, the more I read. Within a few months, I came up with a few ideas and met with Dr. Boyle to talk about them. After some discussion, I decided I would continue with my synthetic wastewater work but also try incorporating sugar from sugar beets into the media. My research focused on characterizing the lipid, carbohydrate, protein, and nutrient acquisition of six different types of algae growing in this media. As biodiesel is created after the pretreatment, transesterification, and purification of lipids, I am trying to optimize lipid content using my synthetic media. I am also interested in carbohydrate, protein, and nutrient content (such as astaxanthin) because, after lipid extraction, the remaining cell mass could be dehydrated and used as a health supplement. Unfortunately, there was a large contamination within the UTEX facility--an algae supplier. Thus, no definitive conclusions could be drawn from this experiment. However, I presented the preliminary data remotely at the 2023 Mines Undergraduate Research Symposium.

In my third year, I characterized algal mutants grown in diurnal light conditions. I presented this research in person at the 2024 Mines Undergraduate Research Symposium. Currently (in my fourth year), a graduate student and I are developing a new method for algal transformation using exosomes. Up to this point, we have used exosome isolation and loading (using electroporation) to find that exosomal transformation is comparable to CRISPR transformation.

I have valued the dual experience of collaborating with graduate students as well as the individual work I’ve had to do in Boyle’s Lab. This has allowed me to develop different skills outside of the classroom. Working in the lab alone has helped me develop more critical thinking and problem-solving skills because I don’t always have someone to ask for help. Additionally, collaborating with others in group meetings and talking to my advisor or graduate students has taught me a lot about different laboratory skills and knowledge about algal biofuels and has encouraged me to ask more concise questions. The more I learn, the more questions I end up having.

For nine months, I worked full-time and then part-time (during the school year) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on a biosecurity research project for Dr. Michael Guarnieri. Alongside Dr. Katie Arnolds and a lab tech, I tested small-scale microbe spills in terrestrial mesocosms to determine if the biocontained microbes lived for less time than their wild-type counterparts. Our work found that although biocontainment strategies for Pseudomonas putida and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were effective in vitro, they were not successful in simulated environmental conditions. As a result, new containment strategies are currently being investigated for P. putida. Throughout my time in this group, I attended journal clubs to review novel papers. During my free time, I also assisted a researcher in the fermentation lab with bioreactor setup and learned other skills such as HPLC and ddPCR. At the end of the summer, I presented my work in front of the lab group. 

I participated in a 10-week National Science Foundation REU program at Utah State University hosted by Dr. David Britt and Dr. Anne Anderson. I applied to this fully funded research experience during my Spring semester of 2022 and was accepted along with 10 other students. It was titled a “Plant STEM REU” program and I indicated I would like to be placed in a lab where I could grow my lab skillset. I was assigned to work with Dr. Astrid Jacobson and another REU student. In Dr. Jacobson’s lab, we researched a nanoparticle fertilizer called meta-vivianite that provides iron and phosphorous to crops in an agricultural setting. As the current method of fertilizing in agriculture is inefficient and leads to eutrophication, we wanted to develop and test a cheaper and less environmentally damaging method to fertilize crops. Our lab group thought that coating the meta-vivianite with chitosan could change the surface charge from negative to positive. As soil particles are negatively charged, positively charged fertilizer could stay in the soil longer, increase nutrient bioavailability to plants, and decrease the risk of eutrophicating nearby water. After initial training, my lab partner and I had a high degree of autonomy; we completed most procedures individually or as a team. My lab partner and I synthesized meta-vivianite in an argon chamber alone with written instructions. During this synthesis, we used a pH meter to indicate how much base we added to our solution and learned how to set the dial on the argon container so that the right amount of inert gas was added to the chamber. Also, because it was difficult to add chemicals or glassware to the chamber after it was closed, we became better at planning ahead with all the equipment we needed for the synthesis. We also synthesized chitosan-coated meta-vivianite in a similar method. 

After synthesis, we were assigned to characterize our nanoparticles using various equipment. For this, we were trained to use a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). After taking an exam, I was certified to use both without supervision in June 2022. We also learned how to use a Zeta Potential Analyzer to determine the surface charge of our samples and were certified to use a Micro-CT to develop 3D images of plant roots.

We addressed the following questions during our time in the program: 1. How does meta-vivianite and chitosan-coated meta-vivianite weather in soil over time? and 2. How does iron and phosphorous content compare with plants grown in meta-vivianite and chitosan-coated meta-vivianite amended soil versus Fe EDDHA (a traditional bulk fertilizer)? The first question was defined by Dr. Jacobson, but my partner and I defined the second question and came up with methods to test both questions. For the weathering experiment, we coated aluminum stubs with our nanoparticles and buried them in soil-filled falcon tubes (either with no plant, wheat seeds, or radish seeds), taking unburied stubs as a control. For four weeks, we watered the samples and dug one set of samples each week for analysis. After thoroughly cleaning the aluminum stubs, we coated the surface with a thin film of gold nanoparticles and used SEM to look at morphological changes and EDS to look at chemical changes. To answer the second question, we grew wheat or radish seeds in soil amended with meta-vivianite, chitosan-coated meta-vivianite, or Fe EDDHA and watered it for 10 days. Like many times in research, experiments fail. The first time we completed this experiment, there were issues with the plants growing. As a team, we brainstormed what could be preventing the plants from growing and developed a new method. With our new methods, the plants grew well enough to continue onto completing a tissue digest. For the digest, we separated the shoots from the roots, washed them, and digested them in a nitric and perchloric acid solution. We boiled off the perchloric acid and sent the samples off to another lab to be analyzed using ICP-MS. My lab partner and I created two posters that we presented at the end of the program. I updated our research poster and presented it at the SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on October 26 – 29, 2022. This conference is a platform for underrepresented people in STEM to present their research. My lab partner presented our research at the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) 10th Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, November 10 – 12, 2022.

This research experience helped develop my collaborative skills in working with a partner, my technical skills in working with difficult and new equipment, and my problem-solving skills in figuring out how to modify an experiment.

When I was younger, I was distressed by all the horrible news about climate change. It felt hopeless—seeing polar bears clinging to melting icebergs, trash islands the size of Texas, and reports of CO₂ emissions skyrocketing past historical highs. Sure, I could recycle, drive less, take shorter showers, work on organic farms, consume less, and adopt plenty of other environmentally conscious habits. But at the end of the day, would these individual, isolated actions make a significant impact on our future?

I’d like to think they do, but the reality is that meaningful change requires the majority of people to take these actions. I believe the greatest opportunity for impact lies in research; new technologies can shift the status quo. To explore this, I’ve spent the last four years in labs working on a variety of projects (see above). Though each project had a different focus, they were all centered on sustainable technologies. 

Biofuels have the potential to one day replace liquid fossil fuels. Nanofertilizers could improve efficiency in agriculture by replacing current low-efficiency fertilizers. Newly developed protocols for microbial survival in various ecosystems can make sustainable biotechnology more acceptable to society. Despite the diverse fields my research has touched on, all of them are linked by the goal of developing more sustainable practices for our future. 

These experiences have prepared me for—and helped me gain admission to—a Chemical Engineering PhD program at Caltech. While these experiences introduced me to various lab techniques, how to present posters and talks, and how to critically analyze research papers, I look forward to further developing these skills in graduate school. My goal is to one day lead my own lab, focused on creating sustainable solutions for a better planet.