1. Frolicking in FranceSummer Enrichment Trip 2011 By Brittany Hubert

2. Getting Started Interested in Molecular Biology Medical School? Not Really.. Research? I think so… Started Lab Work with Dr. Perlin Growing Interest in Research

3. My Project Biology Research from different aspects University lab, service work, research facility, other..?? Different Areas of Molecular Biology Virology, Immunology, Bacteria, Fungus Find what fits me Gain experience in all areas Learn to think like a “scientist” Use experience to advance in my personal education experience Form lasting relationships with experienced professionals

4. Summer 2011 Seven weeks at University of South Paris Orsay, France About 13 miles outside of Paris Work with Tatiana Giraud PhD and lab team The fungus, Microbotryum 3 Goals of Project Learn as much as possible about plant infections, microsatellites, and inoculations Gain general lab experience Immerse myself in French culture and practice language for possible minor

5. Gettin’ Down to Business Fungus Microbotryum: Anther Smut Disease Infects anthers of flowers in carnation family (Silenelatifolia & Silenedioica) Topics Glacial refugia using microsatellites- repeated units of DNA characteristic of different strains Hybrid Sterility/Gene Flow between and within clusters Competetive Exclusion My Jobs PCR with Odile and Pierre (microsatellites) Making and recording conjugations Garden work with Laetitia Replating and recording good strains Healthy Infected “Smutted”

6. My Lab Team! Odile Pierre Mandy Tatiana Alex Marina Elsa

8. PCR, Pipetting, Conjugations

9. Working with a Team

10. Reading (and understanding) research articles

11. Making Charts

12. ReasoningMicrobotryum Easily cultured in lab Reproduces quickly Grows easily on petri dishes Spread by pollinators in nature (bees, bugs..etc) Infects only meristems-embryonic tissue in plants; undifferentiated, growing, actively dividing cells. (dictionary.com) Host specific Followed same speciation path as hosts after glaciations High selfing rate/low crossing rates Closely related species can reproduce Genetic distance determines reproductive ability

13. Why it Matters! Allows us to: Understand other past disease patterns Predict future patterns Understand interactions between host-specific or parasitic organisms Start work on disease prevention or cures Glacial Refugia Silenelatifolia Smut Life Cycle Silenedioica

14. Biology on the Beach Four Day Biology Conference In Roscoff (Brittany), France On New and Emerging Fungal Diseases of Animals and Plants in the context of evolution Interesting talks on many different areas Eye-opening Confusing Learned What conferences are all about New material What I don’t know.. Met many important people/Made new acquaintances Spent a day on the beach!

16. Become more independent-check!

17. Expand my comfort zone-check!How (and who) to ask for help How to use multiple maps What it takes to entertain myself How interesting other people’s lives can be The Paris metro system (after a while) Exactly what you like and don’t like How to adjust to different cultures Travel to France, Switzerland, Germany, and Rome

18. Goals for the Future Continue work in Dr. Perlin’s lab Explore different areas of Molecular Biology research Not lab work (monotonous) More dynamic area Possible work with Pasteur Institute or Marie Curie institute in Africa Look into forensic fields

19. Special thanks to the James Graham Brown Foundation!! And thanks to: -Andrew Grubb -Dr. Michael Perlin Pictures with no citation are from google.com or my camera!