Picking up from where I left off in the Spring of 2022, I continued on with my research with Dr. Beach on using Metagenomic in identifying possibly pathogenic bacteria in rainwater harvesting systems. We also worked with Dr. Gee, who helped us out with some of the more environmental questions we had. I really liked this semester of research because it was a lot more hands on and I felt like I learned more to the point where I felt more confident talking about the subject to others. We were also able to look through the data from the semester before and pull out results which was really cool to see. I would say that the research still leaned more towards a classroom style of discussion instead of really independent research, but I felt like I still came away will some new skills and experiences. I was able to attend my first conference which I actually really enjoyed. It was really cool to see so many other student researchers as well as seasoned veterans of microbiology. I’ve also become more passionate about my research as I’ve gotten to know it more, which has made it more fun to explain to others. I hope to continue on into the next semester as well, where we hope to start looking at legionella specifically as a possible pathogenic bacteria in these water collection sites.
Below is the poster we made and presented at both the Fall Showcase, but also at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Conference. I know it looks similar to the one from BIOL 496, but that’s the point! Our proposal of what we wanted to accomplish actually came true. 🙂
Metagenomic Fingerprinting of Rainwater Harvesting Systems (Fall 2022)