GMGI Says “Thank You!” to Summer Interns
GMGI was fortunate to have four incredible interns with the research team this summer, and as the season wraps up, we want to say THANK YOU!
Brianna, Ashley, Paige, and Rosa (L to R) assisted the team on projects ranging from eDNA to bioinformatics to sea urchin research, with each contributing to the cutting-edge research done inside our research institute on the harbor.
Brianna was a bioinformatics intern working with Emma Strand, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, on our epigenetic aging projects. She spent the summer comparing the age-related genomic markers found in Haddock to 67 other fish genomes to identify which genomic markers are conserved in other species. This information will be used to develop a multi-species fish epigenetic aging clock.
Ashley worked with Tim O’Donnell, Research Scientist, on our environmental DNA (eDNA) projects. Ashley conducted an experiment in the lab to identify the most effective protocol to detect fish and elasmobranch biodiversity in our eDNA samples. These results will be used to improve our eDNA lab processing and data quality.
Paige and Rosa were both Academy students who spent their four-month internship with the research team at 417 Main Street.
Paige worked with GMGI’s Research Program Director Ann Petersen, Ph.D., assisting research team members in improving lab safety and compliance strategies. Paige’s daily tasks included preparing specimens for DNA extractions and sampling, researching gene functions in databases, and general lab management.
Rosa worked with Riss Kell, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scientist, assisting them with their sea urchin immune system work. Rosa assisted Dr. Kell in characterizing the sea urchin immune cells’ response to DNA damage. In this collaborative project with Cell Signaling Technology (CST), Rosa mastered the Western Blot technique to detect sea urchin proteins involved in the DNA damage response. Their work will provide insight into sea urchins’ natural cancer resistance and how it can inform cancer therapies for humans.