Template Ima
Choosing a research focus:
I enrolled in the Science for Life seminar class where I saw a variety of research presented in a weekly class. I interviewed a number of faculty about their research and ultimately decided to enter into a lab that dealt with angiosperm phylogenetics. I chose this because I felt I would not have another opportunity to explore a field I found very interesting: I had read a book on the evolution of floral plants and was also curious about morphological evolution. Even though I was, and still am, a pre-medical student, I still found my lab experience to be invaluable; working on research first-hand allowed me to understand many aspects of the scientific process in great detail (project design, data analysis, troubleshooting, hypothesis formulation, peer review) and gave me familiarity with work in a molecular biology laboratory. Even though I don’t plan to continue into the field of botany for professional study, I am glad I have been able to explore the field currently and its future direction as much as I have.
