Former Research Students and Their Success Stories, Part I!

At a small liberal arts institution, I don't have postdoctoral students, technicians, or graduate students.  I lack vast infrastructure or much in the way of grant support (and I am pretty much out of money---gulp!).  Nor do I have much time, with teaching taking up most of my hours on campus (and off, given grading and prep time).  I have very little time to reflect and plan and be creative, though I do my best.

What I am very fortunate to have are wonderful undergraduate students.  On this blog, I would like to write about those students from time to time.  After all, a great career after graduation is certainly a fine "outcome" of student education here in Tacoma! And I have many success stories to share. 

One such success story is the inimitable Franny Gilman, who graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2010.  Franny worked with myself and my colleague Stacey Weiss on the fairly unusual cloacal microbiota of the Striped Plateau Lizard, Sceloporus virgatus, and we had a publication in the journal Symbiosis as a result.

After graduation here in Tacoma, Franny went on to graduate school in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Montana.  There, she began work with William Holben's group for her PhD research.  Last summer, Franny went to Greenland to study the microbial ecology of that far-flung place.  Here is her story, in her words, and with her photographs.

Microbial contributions and responses to climate change vastly exceed previous expectations and appear to be substantially impacting both climate change rates and ecosystem responses, yet remain poorly understood. This microbial "black box" needs to be exposed and examined to provide more accurate climate models.  

Specifically, my thesis aims to address the microbial community composition and community function observed in permafrost and the correlation to greenhouse gas emissions measured in two different field sites in Greenland.  My thesis research will involve deployment of molecular analyses including deep 16S rRNA sequencing, metagenomic analyses, comparative metatranscriptomics, and quantitative PCR for key enzymes in controlling methane production and carbon and nitrogen cycles.  Using these techniques will help to develop better predictions as to how microbial communities shift in changing environments in the arctic.  

This past summer I was able to work with collaborators from the Center for Permafrost at the University of Copenhagen (http://cenperm.ku.dk/) and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (http://www.geus.dk/geuspage-uk.htm) in both Copenhagen and in Greenland.  

I am now back at my home lab at the University of Montana (http://holben-lab.dbs.umt.edu/).

It kind of makes me a little teary to hear how professionally Franny writes about all the wonderful things she is doing in the lab---and yes, out on the glacial ice!  It's true that I wish I had those resources and wonderful instruments to work with, but I am so very proud of Franny and how much she has learned since leaving my classroom and laboratory.

Here are some photographs from Franny's Summer 2013 adventure in Greenland!

Figure 1. This photo was taken outside of the Arctic Station on Disko Island in Greenland in August (http://arktiskstation.ku.dk/english/).

Figure 2.  After a day of soil sampling, two other graduate students and I head back to the station around 9 at night.  This photo was also taken in August.

Figure 3.  Here I am at the CENPERM snow fence field site in June.  

And that last image fits Franny to a "T"...and is how I always think of her.  One of a kind!

I had asked Franny to get me some souvenirs from Greenland. After all, it is not likely that I shall ever travel there!  And she sent me some interesting things, indeed, for my Wunderkammer or Cabinet of Curiosities!

There exists remarkable lichen on some of the volcanic rock in Greenland.  Check out the piece Franny sent me.

I have also heard that Greenland contains some of the oldest rocks on the planet (including evidence of ancient microbial life), and some are quite unusual.  In particular, I have heard that many minerals in Greenland fluoresce under ultraviolet light. And indeed, one of the rocks Franny sent to me does precisely that!

 Sure, I adore the souvenirs---thank you, ma'am!---but I am far, far more excited to hear of the wonderful and interesting things Franny is doing in graduate school.  I hope to add her PhD thesis to my shelf, along with those of my other former undergraduate research students.  It's a awesome thing to look at while I am grading at my desk, and helps me through tough times.

Watching former students succeed and do wondrous things is the best "thank you" I can ever receive.

This is why I have the job I do, warts and all---to have the privilege of working with students like Franny Gilman.  Franny, you have come a long way from when we first met!  I hope to get you to come back to Tacoma to give a seminar about your work soon.

I'm very proud of you, and thanks again for being in my classes, and working in my laboratory.