Name: Skylar Livengood
Class Year: 2024
Major: Biology
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Internship Organization: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Job Title: Molecular Ecology Lab Intern
Location: Edgewater, MD
What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
This summer I’ve been interning in the Molecular Ecology lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) under Dr. Melissa McCormick. I’ve been studying rapid evolution of the invasive reed Phragmites australis in response to global change factors, with a goal of understanding how marsh ecosystems will respond to predicted elevated CO2 and nitrogen conditions. My work here has been a part of a larger NSF funded project headed by Dr. Thomas Mozdzer at Bryn Mawr called the C-Evo project.
Why did you apply for this internship?
In my second semester at Bryn Mawr, I took an introductory biology course taught by Dr. Thomas Mozdzer. He used his own research to explain concepts in class, and I was drawn to his work in climate change ecology. I began shadowing in his lab that semester, and started doing research with him in the beginning of my sophomore year studying the physiology of Phragmites. It was through Dr. Mozdzer that I learned about this internship and was connected with Dr. McCormick. I came to college knowing I wanted to study climate change, and through these two mentors I’ve been able to do so while also discovering new passions in ecology and genetics.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
My summer here has taught me a lot about how science works, and I’ve had so many wonderful experiences: working in the lab to extract DNA from plant leaves, running PCRs to determine the genotypes of different plants, learning how to use different software and R programs to analyze my data, and sweating it out on the marsh to gather measurements and samples. While gaining lab and field experience was important to me coming into this internship, I’ve found that my time here has taught me more than just technical skills. I’ve had the chance to see how science really works -- something that often seems so daunting and inaccessible when you’re just starting to do research. Ecology itself is super interdisciplinary, and I’ve met so many people this summer, all with very different backgrounds and specializations, researching a broad range of topics. If you’re reading this and want (or have) any advice about getting a start in research, please feel free to reach out!
What is most rewarding about your internship? Was this internship what you expected it to be?
Something I didn’t expect from my internship was how rewarding living at SERC with my cohort of interns has been. I’ve made some lifelong friends and colleagues here, and have learned so much through living-room conversations about their own projects and paths in science. I came into this internship expecting to learn more about genetic work and lab techniques, but have finished out the summer with so much more.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.