Following the successes of RU biology graduates

Recent graduates from the Biology Department have let us know how they are using their degree. Below are some stories shared with us!

• Aubree Marshall (our Dean’s Scholar from 2020) was a double major in Biology and Anthropology (ANSC) and is now in a PhD program in Anthropology at Michigan State.
• McKenzie Schrank was a Biology/ANSC double major too, and is now in a Master’s of Public Health program at the University of Colorado. She and Dr. Gruss just submitted a manuscript based on collaborative research to the American Journal of Physical Anthropology – along with Jessi Wollman, who was an ANSC major and Biology minor, and Aubrey Marshall.
• Daniel Harrison was accepted to ~10 medical schools, and is currently attending the Alix School of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
• Lindsey Lee is in the veterinary program at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
• Hannah Stewart started medical school at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
• Kevin Pham, now at Auburn University, recently had his proposal selected for funding and support from the very competitive and prestigious NIH G Rise Training Fellowship. He is now a NIH G Rise Scholar at Auburn University continuing his work in Neuroscience and Environmental Stress Physiology. You can follow him on Twitter @KevinPPham
• Eric Allen is in graduate school at the University of Oklahoma,  Department of Botany. He is using satellite imagery to study drought effects on vegetation in the panhandle of Oklahoma.
• Abby Malmborg is currently employed at the Asheville Museum of Science and has been doing a PHENOMENAL job of science outreach programming throughout the pandemic via Asheville Museum of Science, “Ask a Scientist” weekly segment. Excerpt: Ask a Scientist is a 30-60 minute weekly segment that aims to connect science professionals to our community! During the course of their virtual presentation, we invite all our viewers to watch, send in questions, and talk to the experts. What's your favorite science topic? We will find a scientist for you!
• Logan Platt is a wildlife research technician at the Jones Center at Ichauway in south Georgia. It is a well-known, well-respected center known for its work on quail, bobcats, and fire ecology. He hopes to apply this work to a graduate program in mammalogy in the near future.
• Logan Van Meter is working in California for a subsidiary of Eli Lilly, completing genetics research. Logan hopes to apply this work towards a graduate program in bats and genetics in coming years.
• McKenzie Clore and current undergraduate Georgia Davidson just published research in the American Midland Naturalist based on bird-window collisions at RU. The work is entitled: “A Bird's-Eye View: Novel Use of Drone Images to Quantify Differences in Altitudinal Reflections in Bird-window Collision Studies.”
• Kirsty DeWitt started PA training at RUC’s PA Program in August 2021
• Erin Dudley writes: “I am currently the Wine Director for the largest restaurant group in the Washington, DC area. To reach this position, I had to study and work as a sommelier for multiple years. A sommelier is essentially just a wine expert that sells wine. A Wine Director is a sommelier that manages the wine programs and sommeliers for a restaurant or a group of restaurants.
  
  A good wine is a bottled representation of a community's culture, history, agriculture, climate, and gastronomy. In order to understand a style of wine, you have to learn and understand these factors of the community. Furthermore, the production, service, and aging of wine is a series of microbiological, chemical, and physical reactions that must be understood in order to properly master the subject. That means that when studying wine, you get to study sociology, history, horticulture, gastronomy, climate-change, geography, geology, microbiology, chemistry, physics, and international & domestic business. As a Director of a company, you also gain skills in employee management, marketing, and accounting.
  
  In practice, a sommelier must be able to communicate these concepts without the topic getting stuffy, pretentious, or boring. It's actually very similar to the skills needed to discuss your research! While the job is not always glamorous, the wine industry comes with a really unique lifestyle. There are abundant opportunities to travel the world, attend really lavish events without paying a dime, being treated as a VIP in some of the nicest restaurants in the world, and getting your hands dirty in some seriously top-notch vineyards - all while still on the clock.
  
  Also, with this industry, you are committed to a life where there is literally no limit on what you can learn. I will be studying wine my entire life, and I will continue to learn something new every day, very much like if I had gone into a traditional academic field.
  
  The wine industry is bursting with opportunities for young scientists. From working the vineyards to selling to international markets, the careers available are diverse and extremely rewarding to a curious mind.”

• Dharmindra Dulal started medical school in August at the University of Toledo College of Medicine.