On episode #18 I'm joined by Becca Clement (@beccasbugs) and Keylie Gibson (@gibsonkeylie) who are both PhD candidates at George Washington University's Computational Biology Institute. We begin by defining computational biology and then see how their research projects (related to Black Rhino conservation and the Australian termite diversity anomaly) both rely on analyzing huge amounts of data. If you are at the Ecological Society of America's annual meeting in Louisville this week check out their talks!

Science in Progress

#18 - Becca Clement and Keylie Gibson - What is computational biology?

In this episode, I chat with Meredith Zettlemoyer a PhD candidate at Michigan State University who works at the Kellogg Biological Station. Meredith studies responses of prarie communities to different aspects of global change like nitrogen addition, deer herbivory and climate change. In this episode we chat about what it's like to have many different work experiences while being a student. Meredith's journey was shaped by jobs working with AmeriCorps and as a writer. I made sure to ask Meredith for lots of writing suggestions! She also listed this book by Chimamanda Adichie as her favorite and I'm excited to read it soon Half of a Yellow Sun Meredith's website Follow Meredith on twitter

#17 Meredith Zettlemoyer - Work experiences and writing tips

In today's episode I talk with Gina Ramirez, a PhD candidate at Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste in La Paz, Mexico. Gina and I met just over a year ago when I was an instructor with the NGO Clubes de Ciencia. Gina is one of the amazingly dedicated staff members in La Paz and with the team there, she coordinates 1 week workshops for undergraduates in Mexico that are all about science! We also get to hear about Gina's exciting research that includes analzying data about fish communities in national parks and a National Geographic funded project involving an underwater ROV. Clubes de Ciencia  Gina's Research CIBNOR UABCS Alcoholes académicos

#16 Gina Ramírez - Clubes de Ciencia and Marine Ecology

[update] Dr. Chelsea Little defended her PhD recently!! Congrats Dr. Little!! If you want to stream her defense talk, check it out here In this conversation I chat with Chelsea about the differences between PhD programs in the US and Europe. Chelsea is a PhD candidate in the Altermatt lab at the University of Zurich. Also, Chelsea was kind enough to survey a group of colleagues (N = 18) about their experiences in graduate school in Europe. See below for all the details. This is a treasure trove of cool information, so read on! Chelsea’s website and twitter

#4 Chelsea Little - Getting a PhD in Switzerland

In today’s episode I chat with Manuel Lequerica, a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney.  We talk about the fascinating aspects of urban ecology including light pollution, human connection with nature and plant/insect interactions.  We also have fun discussions about what it’s like to follow different passions for research and why it’s OK to be fascinated by lots of different things.  Thanks to Manuel for this episode!! Also, thank you Alejandra Echeverri for introducing us.  If you haven’t listened to the episode I recorded with Ale, you should! (It’s episode number 13).   This is our lab website but it is terribly out of date (sorry!). I am also part of this research group, which focuses more on insect behaviour. You can find us on facebook as The Hochuli Lab and Invertebrate Behaviour and Ecology Lab, respectively.    My two papers about urban ecology are under review, so I can’t really share them. Anyhow, I do have a blog (which covers a lot of ground, but is also a bit out of date). My Twitter handle is @M_Lequerica   Want to learn more about the research groups that Manuel is part of? Check out these publications: Arthropod responses to urbanisation: Environmental drivers of spider community composition at multiple scales along an urban gradient EC Lowe, CG Threlfall, SM Wilder, DF Hochuli Biodiversity and Conservation 27 (4), 829-852 Petrol exhaust pollution impairs honey bee learning and memory RJ Leonard, V Vergoz, N Proschogo, C McArthur, DF Hochuli Oikos Human wellbeing and urban greeenspaces: Wellbeing and urban living: nurtured by nature L Taylor, AK Hahs, DF Hochuli Urban Ecosystems 21 (1), 197-208 Defining greenspace: Multiple uses across multiple disciplines L Taylor, DF Hochuli Landscape and Urban Planning 158, 25-38 Insects and urban agriculture: Bee-friendly community gardens: Impact of environmental variables on the richness and abundance of exotic and native bees JC Makinson, CG Threlfall, T Latty Urban Ecosystems 20 (2), 463-476 Engaging urban stakeholders in the sustainable management of arthropod pests EC Lowe, T Latty, CE Webb, MEA Whitehouse, ME Saunders Journal of Pest Science, 1-16   We talked about other cool urban ecology studies.  Here are some of them:   London Underground mosquitos: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/london-underground-has-its-own-mosquito-subspecies-180958566/   Rats in NYC: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/06/05/as-cities-report-more-rats-than-ever-scientists-find-eastside-and-westside-rodents/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2e0b79cf286e   Global urban evolution project: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/science/white-clover-evolution.html     

#14 Manuel Lequerica - Urban Ecology

 On today's podcast I chat with Alejandra Echeverri who is a Phd candidate at the University of British Columbia and environmental consultant.  Ale describes environmental consulting work and tells us about some of her past and current projects.  She describes ways to get involved in consulting as a way to engage with ecological research and as a potential career path.   website: https://alejandraecheverriochoa.wordpress.com/ twitter: @ornithoale

#13 - Alejandra Echeverri - Environmental consulting as a career

Anna's a PhD student at University of Connecticut.  She studies bat viruses which is super fascinating!  We talk a little about Anna's research, but in this discussion we focus on our strategies coping when things don't go as we envisioned in research or our overall grad school plans. Find Anna on social media here: Twitter: Anna_Rose_Sjodin Instagram: @lady_virus_hunter website: https://www.annarosesjodin.com/

#12 - Anna Sjodin - What happens when things don't go as planned?

So excited to be joined by Laura Abondano on this episode.  Laura and I started chatting about recording this show about a year ago.  I found Laura's work on the website 500 women scientists.  She studies woolly monkey reproductive behaviors and paternity patterns.  We hear all about Laura's research and what it's like studying primates in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. Laura has a website with colleagues where they post awesome info about woolly monkeys. Find it here: https://monochorongo.wordpress.com/  

#12 Laura Abondano - Primatology field work in Ecuador

In this episode, I have a fun conversation with Dave Thomas from University of Oklahoma.  We walk about Dave's research in plant biology and biofuels.  We also hear about his strategies for using carnivorous plants to teach plant bio at his home institution!

#11 Dave Thomas - Plant Bio, Biofuels & Carnivorous Plants

In this episode I chat with Abbie Kropf a 2nd year PhD student at Iowa State University.  Abbie is in the department of entomology at Iowa State.  In this episode, we talk about how Abbie started in her Masters research in Costa Rica.  She spend multiple seasons in Costa Rica studying forest fragmentation with Dr. Mike Wasserman and Dr. Peter Beck.   We also have a great discussion about perserserverance in grad school and suggestions for finding grad school labs that will be a good fit. As a side note, Abbie was incredibly kind when my dog began barking mid-recording.  Thanks, Abbie!! Find more info on Abbie's research here: https://www.ent.iastate.edu/dept/faculty/gassmann/people/abigail-kropf  

#10 Abbie Kropf - Entomology & Perseverance in Grad School

Johnny joins me on the podcast to discuss his research on coastal resilience and climate change.  Johnny's currently a PhD student at Rutgers University.  He switched over to the PhD program after spending time in a masters program at Rutgers.  We talk about some of his decision-making behind the switch. Johnny also won the ESA's graduate student policy award! https://www.esa.org/esa/tag/hill-days/ Johnny Quispe's website: https://johnnyquispe.com/

#9 Johnny Quispe - Coastal Resilience

In this episode, I sit down with Priya Shukla of UC Davis' Bodega Marine Lab.  Over the past couple of years, Priya has worked as lab manager for the Ocean Acidification group at BML.  Recently, she accepted a spot in UC Davis' Ecology PhD program!  Priya discusses what it's like to work as a lab manager (for 3 different labs at once!) and what it was like applying to grad school amidst all the work at BML. We talk a bit about Priya's career trajectory and Priya shares some awesome advice about how to get involved in this field that we like so much. Follow Priya on twitter: @Priyology Priya's website Priya is a Forbes contributor!

#8 Priya Shukla - Lab managing and grad school

I'm joined by Diego Balbuena who just finished up his undergrad degree at Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Lima, Peru!  In this episode we talk about Diego's path to becoming an ecologist.  Diego took a couple of years off to develop skills in studying the wildlife that live in rainforest canopies.  He has fantastic tales from the field as well as a real passion for the ecology research that he conducts. Diego on Twitter Diego's website

#7 Diego Balbuena - Rainforest Research

In this episode I chat with Dan Clark, a PhD candidate in Ecology and Evolution at Rutgers University.  During this podcast, Dan and I discuss some of the many decisions that prospective grad students have to make when applying to programs.  We talk about things ranging from the differences between MS and PhD programs and living in places that get so much snow!  Dan received his masters from CUNY-ESF, and it's great to hear his research path and how he made decisions about grad school.

#6 Dan Clark - Grad School Decisions

This week, I'm joined by Jason Sadowski of the UC Davis Bodega Marine.  We talk about Jason's path from undergraduate research at Rutgers University to his current work on marine invasions in northern California. Jason's website: https://jasonsadowski.wordpress.com/ twitter: Jason_Sadowski linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-sadowski-861a75ab/

#5 Jason Sadowski - Research Talk

Want to know what it's like to start out in a career in ecology, biology or science? In each episode of Science in Progress, I interview graduate students, research technicians, or undergrads at the early stages of careers in science. We have fun and honest conversations about what it’s like to learn how to be a scientist.

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