UNH Undergraduate Research in the Great Bay Estuary
What is it like to conduct undergraduate research as a UNH student? What undergraduate research opportunities are available at UNH?
Caylin Grove '25, a genetics: genomics major, received funding to study eastern oyster larvae found in the Great Bay Estuary. Learn more about how she spent the summer on a boat collecting water samples and learning how to conduct an independent research project.
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Conducting research on a boat in the Great Bay Estuary
What is your research about?
I studied MSX and Dermo in eastern oyster larvae found in the Great Bay Estuary. These are two diseases that are responsible for a 90% decrease in oyster populations in the Great Bay Estuary. My research was funded by a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and an Undergraduate Research Award (URA) during my time at UNH.
Conducting research on a boat in the Great Bay Estuary
What did you learn through your research project?
I gained valuable knowledge about how to run an independent research project. I also acquired many skills that have proved useful during applications to jobs and master’s programs. Throughout my time in Bonnie Brown’s ecological genetics lab, I have done many things that I find amazing, such as my current project of sequencing larval genomes using Nanopore sequencing technology.
Conducting research on a boat in the Great Bay Estuary
What was the best part of your research project?
The best part was working closely with everyone to understand all the moving parts that go into a research lab. I spent a lot of my Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) out on boats in the Great Bay Estuary collecting water samples and helping with crabbing for other projects in the lab.
Working in the lab
How did you prepare to present your research?
To prepare my presentation for the UNH Undergraduate Research Conference (URC), I worked with members of my lab to perfect the presentation. I have a few friends who were also presenting at the URC, so we got together and practiced presenting and gave each other feedback.
Conducting research on a boat in the Great Bay Estuary
What’s next for you?
I plan to start my master's after graduation. During my time in Brown’s ecological genetics lab, I have learned extraordinarily important skills that have given me a leg up for my master’s and have set me on a path to becoming a better researcher and person. I plan to use all that I have been taught at UNH to hopefully one day work in human genomics toward curing genetic diseases.
learn more about undergraduate research at UNH
