Thankfully, My Badge Still Works

So, there you have it. Those are the three patterns that we concluded from a year’s worth of research, and I feel pretty happy about how much we got done. I came into this project pretty skeptical about working with fish, and pretty confident that the only thing I would leave excited about was if we found a new species. And, yes, that was exciting to me and everyone who visited our poster. However, to be completely honest, I found it more interesting that we were able to connect paleoclimatic events to genetic differences. This was only feasible through all our bioinformatics work. This project really demonstrated that while the molecular lab work is important, it means nothing unless you have a way to visualize it bioinformatically. The computer skills I’ve learned will prove just as valuable in the future as the wet lab skills I improved.

 It’s sad to say goodbye to research I immersed myself in for the past year, but it makes me so excited to know that I can give any stranger a quick two minute rundown on Congolese Killifish and their history in the Congo River basin. It’s nice being knowledgeable on a niche topic that contributes to the larger scope of geographical climate research based on genetics. I also really value the friendships I've made and the trusting relationship I developed with my mentor. I hope we all get sushi sometime soon. I may come back to this project once our paper is finalized and we have more results on Congopanchax brichardi, but for now I end the series on my research at the American Museum of Natural History. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these posts as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them, and I can’t wait for my next research chapter on infectious diseases at the Wadsworth Lab in Albany. More on that soon!