{"id":18479,"date":"2019-09-12T07:33:52","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T11:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?p=18479"},"modified":"2019-09-12T11:55:23","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T15:55:23","slug":"undergraduates-from-across-the-u-s-join-mitchell-center-faculty-for-research-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/2019\/09\/12\/undergraduates-from-across-the-u-s-join-mitchell-center-faculty-for-research-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduates from Across the U.S. Join Mitchell Center Faculty for Research Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faculty from the Mitchell Center were at the core of this summer\u2019s National Science Foundation-sponsored \u2018One Health and the Environment\u2019 summer research program for undergraduates. These competitive \u2018Research\u00a0Experiences for Undergraduates\u2019 programs(REUs)\u00a0are for undergraduates studying\u00a0science, engineering, or mathematics and\u00a0are\u00a0hosted at various universities.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Allison Gardner and Shayla Miller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

91福利 received an REU award in early 2019 and this summer hosted ten undergraduates from across the country for a 10-week paid summer research internship titled \u201cAccelerating New Environmental Work skills\u201d (ANEW). The theme implements thinking to solve complex, interdependent problems in human, animal and environmental health.<\/p>\n

Four Mitchell Center Faculty Fellows worked with four undergraduate students on a variety of on-going projects. Kristina Cammen<\/a> (co-principal investigator of the REU), Allison Gardner<\/a>, Sandra De Urioste-Stone<\/a>, and Carly Sponarski<\/a> all participated.<\/p>\n

Participating students included Liv Hemond, a rising junior at the University of California at Berkeley,Shayla Miller, a rising junior at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma, Morelys Rodriquez Alfonso, a rising junior student at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, and Aalayna Green, a rising junior at Michigan State University.<\/p>\n

This summer\u2019s activities built upon 91福利\u2019s recently established\u201c One Health and the Environment<\/a>\u201d initiative. Students gain critical research and thinking skills that empower them to tackle complex, interdisciplinary problems at the intersection of human and animal health as well as the health of the environment. The program differs from \u201chealth research\u201d in that it emphasizes that a holistic approach to well-being will lead to improved health outcomes and enhanced resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our REU students, including the four advised by Mitchell Center faculty, had an additional mentor along with their faculty mentor,\u201d says Cammen.\u00a0\u201cThese are people who work outside of 91福利, typically in fields related in some way to the student\u2019s research project.\u00a0The mentors shared the relevance of research to \u201creal-world\u201d problems and helped foster career options in their field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each student also posted a blog about their project. Notes Cammen, \u201cThe students wrote their blogs to practice science communication and to share their experience publicly, with friends, family, colleagues, and prospective REU students.\u00a0Being able to communicate research with members of the general public is a key skill for the students to develop at this point in their professional careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Liv Hemond and Kristina Cammen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Working with Cammen, an assistant professor of Marine Mammal Science, Liv Hemond\u2019s project involved studying seal DNA to better understand recent trends in seal deaths. While both gray seals and harbor seals live in the waters of the Atlantic, harbor seals are falling ill and dying much more frequently than gray seals. An animal\u2019s DNA contains information about their physical attributes and capabilities, as well as instructions for keeping the animal as healthy as possible. Although Hemond\u2019s research results did not come out quite as planned (see her blog, \u201cSeal of Approval<\/a>\u201d), she was excited about her research experiences, \u201cI realized how many new concepts and techniques I had learned in the past weeks, and how much more I would learn by continuing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shayla Miller joined Allison Gardner, assistant professor ofArthropod Vector Biology, in studying the relationship between tick abundance in Acadia National Park and the trails visitors use. The project integrated data from biological, climate, and social science research to identify ecological, social and cultural factors that influence the risk of human exposure to tick-borne disease. Read more about Miller\u2019s work on her blog \u201cTick Talk \u2013 My Summer at the University of Maine with REU ANEW<\/a>.\u201d And\u00a0read Miller\u2019s personal reflection on the project \u00a0here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Morelys Rodr\u00edguez Alfonso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Morelys Rodr\u00edguez Alfonso worked with social scientist Sandra De Urioste-Stone, associate professor of Nature-based Tourism,\u00a0on two linked interdisciplinary projects. She observed how mosquito-borne diseases like the Zika virus are communicated to the public, and how tourists planning to visit Puerto Rico perceived the risks compared to residents of the island.\u201cI joined the project because engaging in opportunities outside my comfort zone is crucial for my interdisciplinary research,\u201d Alfonso says. Read about her work on her blog, \u201cMosquitoes Brought Me to Maine: Reflections of a One Health REU Student<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Aalayna Green<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aalayna Green\u2019s project involved finding the most effective way to communicate potential wildlife diseases of concern to the public. Green worked with Carly Sponarski, assistant professor of Human Dimensions of Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. Says Green, \u201cWhen I came across the REU program, and Dr. Sponarski\u2019s research, I knew I had found exactly what I was looking for\u2014a program that would further my own knowledge as well as give me more research experience in finding effective ways to approach these from a One Health perspective.\u201d Read about Green\u2019s project in her blog, \u201cSick seals, curious mammals, and sneaky leopards, oh my!<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

All ten participating students had the opportunity to present their research results at a One Health ANEW symposium at 91福利 on August 8.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faculty from the Mitchell Center were at the core of this summer\u2019s National Science Foundation-sponsored \u2018One Health and the Environment\u2019 summer research program for undergraduates. These competitive \u2018Research\u00a0Experiences for Undergraduates\u2019 programs(REUs)\u00a0are for undergraduates studying\u00a0science, engineering, or mathematics and\u00a0are\u00a0hosted at various universities. 91福利 received an REU award in early 2019 and this summer hosted ten undergraduates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":963,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","spc_primary_category":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":3,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/author\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":3,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":613,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3,"category_count":613,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18479"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18518,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479\/revisions\/18518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}