The awardees and honorable mentions for the 2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) competition were recently posted and several Biology students were recognized. Biology PhD student Erin Frates of the Marlow Lab, Marine Science BA student Annabel Hughes of the Davies Lab, and Biology PhD student Renata Serio of the Fiszbein Lab were awarded with 3-year graduate research fellowships. Biology PhD student Shalom Entner of the Finnerty Lab received an honorable mention.

Erin Frates is a PhD student in the Marlow Lab studying Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. Their work is focused on environmental microbiology ranging from seafloor ecosystems to NASA ocean worlds. They are interested in understanding microbe-mineral interactions; in particular, how does microbial diversity and activity influence surrounding mineralogy, and how geochemistry in turn informs microbial ecology. Recently, Frates assessed the influence of natural and anthropogenic carbon on microbial communities at Little Sippewissett Salt Marsh on Cape Cod. Now, they are using mineral-printed electrodes to stimulate methanogenic activity under Enceladus-like conditions in order to identify potential biosignatures. Frates recently participated in a NSF-funded masterclass centered on training early career researchers to lead future deep sea expeditions.
 

Annabel Hughes graduated with a BA in Marine Science from BU in January 2023 and moved on to a Research Technician position in the Davies Lab. Her research proposal investigates three cryptic lineages in a Siderastrea siderea species complex across the Bocas del Toro Reef Complex (BTRC) in Panamá. The existence of these cryptic lineages was previously documented by Dr. Hannah Aichelman in the Davies Lab, and this additional research sets out to build upon what we already know with key information such as upper thermal limits and microbial communities of these different lineages. The overarching objective is to identify the forces influencing the spatial distributions of cryptic lineages across the BTRC seascape in an effort to understand and predict future reef responses to anthropogenic warming.
Renata Serio is a PhD student in the Fiszbein lab, which focuses on uncovering mechanisms regulating transcription and pre-mRNA processing. Her current focus, supported by the NSF GRFP, revolves around understanding the intricate mechanism behind viral protein induced alternative splicing of host genomes. Splicing is the process in which introns are removed from transcripts during pre-mRNA processing. Often, genes will have multiple alternative transcripts, this is referred to as alternative splicing. Dysregulation of alterative splicing has been identified as the cause of many cancers. During viral infection expression of specific viral proteins can alter activity of alternative splicing in host genes. This is particularly significant for a subset of viruses referred to as oncoviruses; which have the ability to induce cancer. Renata’s research combines computational and experimental approaches to unravel how viral protein expression modifies alternative splicing patterns in infected cells. 
Shalom Entner is studying variation of oxidative stress response to polystyrene (styrofoam) microplastic with ultraviolet light exposure in Nematostella vectensis using phenotypic and transcriptomic methods. Microplastics may affect organisms even when it is not ingested or incorporated into the body due to chemicals that they leach as they are exposed to UV light. Oxidants are known to leach from polystyrene, inducing oxidative stress which is likely to vary between individuals. Baseline research is needed to establish the oxidative stress responses to this exposure, especially where these toxicants may exist for extended periods of time. N. vectensis is a sentinel species in persistent salt marsh ponds that collect runoff, meaning this animal can be used as an environmental monitor. 

Congratulations to the awardees and honorable mentions on your hard work and this well-deserved honor.