Undergraduate research students in mycology at LSU (also see Emeritus undergraduate researchers)
See the students below; also, see the quiz, "Are you PLANT-wise?"
Thanks to the National Science Foundation for the support of students through the Research for Undergraduates (REU) program. [This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under several grants. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.][Send an e-mail if YOU are interested in doing research on fungi.]
Blatant advertisement for the great value of undergraduate research
As a Senior Postdoctoral Researcher at LSU, I was invariably at the 'sharp end' of undergraduate research, with responsibility for the daily supervision and training of students in the laboratory. This experience was entirely, and mutually, positive. As an educational tool, research is unsurpassed in the challenges and opportunities it provides for undergraduates; it tests the ability for independent thought, for curiosity and for perseverance. It demands mental sophistication, manual dexterity and the ability to communicate. In short, it fosters the very skills that are actively sought by medical schools, graduate programs and employers, and it no accident that all the research undergraduates with whom I interacted, have enjoyed subsequent success in their chosen careers. In a recent report ("Beyond Bio 101"), the influential Howard Hughes Medical Institute cited undergraduate research as an essential element in the development of a scientific cadre to meet the future needs of society as a whole. This is an opinion with which I fully concur. Undergraduate research makes for better students and for better teachers. --Kevin Jones (postdoctoral researcher 1993-1998)
At LSU I gained a strong foundation for my advanced specialization.  I was influenced by the dedication of my professors as well as the individual challenges and attention they offered. --Cathy Dugas DeRobertis (BS 1985)
As an average sophomore interested in science, but lacking focus, I made the best career decision thus far.  I pursued a student worker job for a prominent professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.  This quickly led to undergraduate research which paid my living expenses for the next three years while I worked around my school schedule.  But more importantly, over the next three years I gained valuable, hands-on experience that brought light to all my classroom learning.  I had personal projects and used techniques I was learning alongside Masters and Ph.D. students, and I was an undergraduate.  I was more than just a name to faculty members so my references were personalized.  When the time came to graduate and start job searching, I was able to compete for jobs that preferred a Masters degree.  I had a long list of research skills and experience, I had traveled to conferences and presented research while meeting people in my field, and I had an impressive list of references that could personally vouch for my qualifications.  I know any one of these would mean more to a potential employer than a transcript of classes.  My student worker job in Biological Sciences is responsible for these undergraduate achievements that gave me an edge over many while job searching.  Now my full-time job involves the kind of research that sparked my interest and allows me to pursue a higher degree while I have a family.  --Brandye Sawyer (BS 1995)
Upon reflection, I realize that the skills that have brought me success in my current role and most certainly my future role are skills and insight that I have gained through the undergraduate research experience and classes at LSU.  Organization, determination, persistence, ability to focus, problem solving, ability to analyze situations, strive for excellence, and confidence. These are attributes and values that I am very often told are my assets. Thank you! Although life has lead me in a slightly different direction (concerning research) the knowledge I have gained will remain instrumental in my future success.  Take the time to enjoy the beauty of LSU's campus.  I miss the Live Oak trees! --La Donna Jarrell (BS, 1996)
Undergraduate students are essential to the smooth functioning of the lab, and a number of them have become valued junior colleagues.  The relationship truly is symbiotic, and the opportunity to do research that results in publication ensures that the student stands out, whether beginning a job directly after a bachelor's degree or pursuing an advanced degree.
Alex
Alex was born on July 2nd, 1987 to Jimmy and Debra Anderson. He hails from the city of Kenner, about nine miles from New Orleans, and lived there for most of his life. After receiving his diploma from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, Alex chose to attend LSU to pursue a degree in biology and possibly a minor in chemistry. He is now a junior in his spring semester hoping to become a physician in the field of endocrinology. On a more personal note He is happy that he recently became an uncle/godfather to his only brother's first child. Alex enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing a little tennis when he can, and watching his fish swim in his saltwater aquarium. He began working in the mycology lab Spring 2008.

Jonathan
Jonathan
Jonathan graduated from Episcopal High School, Baton Rouge, in 2004. He is a Biological Sciences major at LSU, receiving the Chancellor’s Alumni Scholarship, the highest scholarship given to incoming students at LSU. He began work in the lab in Summer 2005, where he hopes to continue throughout the rest of his undergraduate career. He is great at doing physiological tests of yeasts! He works late nights and weekends because he has such a heavy schedule. Jonathan is undecided about what he wants to do after college --graduate school, medical school, and/or military service? Or will it be news reporter? He also enjoys learning about and doing all kinds of things. Awesome.
Shyue
Shyue graduated from Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts in May of 2004 and she is currently a part of the LA-STEM Research Scholars program which puts a strong emphasis on the importance of research. She joined the lab as a 3rd year biology major, and her plans are to attend graduate school to earn a Ph.D. Shyue gained valuable research experience in the summer of 2006 at the University of Wisconsin, where she screened invertebrate animals for antibiotic -producing gut bacteria. Shyue's abstract (see below) on her summer research was accepted for a poster presentation at the ABRCMS conference in November (http://www.abrcms.org/page05b.html). Is she really about to wash dishes?

Shyue Lu, Karen Cloud-Hansen, and Jo Handelsman. 2006. Antibiotic Resistance in Gypsy Moth Gut Isolates. ABRCMS Conference, Anaheim, California. 8-11 November 2006. Abstract --The appearance of antibiotic resistance in clinically significant bacteria, which appeared as early as the 1940’s, has had daunting consequences. It is uncertain how bacteria have evolved resistance mechanisms so rapidly in response to the use of antibiotics. A few microbial communities in the guts of insects that provide unusual environments have been studied and have shown high levels of antibiotic resistance. The gut of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) larvae provides an unusual environment due to the gypsy moth diet; the generalist’s diet includes plants with allelochemicals that can be toxic to microbes. Despite the toxicity, microorganisms colonize the gypsy moth larval gut since these microorganisms have developed mechanisms to survive in the harsh conditions in the gut. Perhaps, it is these already present mechanisms that become useful in antibiotic resistance. We are interested in studying the possibility of a causal relationship between toxin survival mechanisms and resistance to antibiotics in bacteria isolated from the gut of the gypsy moth larvae. We tested two groups of culturable isolates; the bacteria isolated from gypsy moths reared in the laboratory for several generations were compared to bacterial isolates from gypsy moth larvae collected in the wild. Each of these isolates was tested in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays against 12 antibiotics of various classes. Partial 16S rRNA sequencing was run in order to identify the wild isolates. The preliminary data does suggest that there is no significant difference between lab domesticated larvae and wild larvae in special variety as well as MIC values. However, we cannot definitively attribute any antibiotic resistance phenotypes to environmental stress in the larval gut, pending more accurate 16S rRNA sequence data and a genetic basis for resistance. While determining the antibiotic resistance of gypsy moth larval gut isolates is only the first step in studies of the gut environmental stress survival mechanistic overlap with high antibiotic resistance, it will allow further study into elucidating the mechanisms against antibiotic resistance in bacterial communities that have not been exposed to high concentrations of antibiotics.
Claire
Claire graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican High School, New Orleans, in 2004.  She is a biochemistry major at LSU.  She began work in the lab during the Fall 2006 semester, where she hopes to receive Upper Division Honors research experience.  Claire is secretary of Kappa Delta Sorority and is an active member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre- medical society on campus.  Also, she is a counselor at Camp Summer Tribe, a camp for cerebral palsy children.  After graduate, she would like to pursue an MD PhD from LSU Medical School in New Orleans in the field of pediatrics.  She enjoys learning new things, meeting new people.

(also, see Emeritus undergraduate researchers)
Last Modified:  19 May 2006
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