microbial

This week on The Sci-Files Chelsie and Danny interview Connie Rojas.

Connie is a 4th year Ph.D. Candidate in Integrative Biology and the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (EEBB) program at Michigan State University. She is investigating the interactions between animal hosts and their symbiotic microbial communities, a.k.a the ‘microbiome.’ Specifically, she is studying how the microbiome affects animal hosts’ physiology and behavior, and how the host and its environment affect their symbiotic microbial communities. Connie is apply her research questions to the social carnivore, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Her research is at the interface of ecology, animal behavior, microbiology, and genomics. Her project brings together fieldwork data, laboratory work and computational tools.

If you’re interested in talking about your MSU research on the radio or nominating a student, please email Chelsie and Danny at scifiles@impact89fm.org. Check The Sci-Files out on Twitter @SciFiles89FM and Facebook!

On this week’s The Sci-Files, your hosts Chelsie and Danny interview Courtney Larson.

Aquatic ecosystems have captivated Courtney Larson and lead her to her research interests to insects that spend a portion of all of their lives in water. This can include different invertebrates such as dragonflies and caddisflies.  She graduated from Wartburg College with a B.A. degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Environmental Science (’14) before beginning her Ph.D. studies in Michigan State University’s Department of Entomology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program. Courtney is interested in the effect of environmental disturbance on the insect and microbial community interactions in streams.  In addition to her passion for research, Courtney is also involved in outreach and teaching related to ecology and environmental studies.

If you’re interested in talking about your MSU research on the radio or nominating a student, please email Chelsie and Danny at scifiles@impact89fm.org. Check The Sci-Files out on Twitter @SciFiles89FM and Facebook!