Grace Zhang, who is from Boston, MA, is graduating this spring with a bachelor’s in microbiology. In the below Q&A, she talks about her research in fungal genetics and the hands-on opportunities in lab courses she has had as an undergraduate. Grace plans to join a research lab and continue research as part of a post-BS research program.
What’s your hometown? / Where did you grow up?
My hometown is Boston, MA.
Why did you choose your major? What was the most interesting or the coolest thing you learned in your courses?
I picked microbiology because I was curious to learn more about pathogens and infectious diseases in university. As for the most interesting thing I learned in my courses here, it’s difficult to pick. I think it’s really cool how the field of microbiology is intertwined with so many other fields, like medicine, food science, ecology, etc. It really opened my eyes regarding the role microbes play in our daily lives.
What student organizations, groups, and other activities were you involved in?
Most recently, in this past year, I am involved in research on fungal genetics. The research lab I’m in is called the Fungal Interactions Lab, and one of the things we study is mobile genetic elements (specifically transposons called Starships) that can be found within fungi. These Starship transposons are involved in horizontal gene transfer, in which these transposons can “jump” between different fungi species. This can have an impact on fungi evolution, as these Starships can carry genes that confer potentially beneficial traits to their hosts. Some of the experiments I’m conducting in this lab involve growing different fungi species pairwise on a plate together to see which species can co-exist with one another, and culturing different fungi pairings to see if they can undergo horizontal gene transfer through these Starship transposons.
What are your post-graduation plans?
I will be participating in a post-baccalaureate research program.
What were the most valuable and/or meaningful experiences you had in CALS?
I found the hands-on learning opportunities offered by CALS to be extremely valuable experiences. The lab courses teach a lot of important basics, and there are also many labs in CALS that conduct very interesting research, allowing for further hands-on learning outside of class.
When you think about your time here as a student, what are you proud of?
I’m really proud of being able to balance my course schedules and graduate in three years.
Do you have any advice you’d like to share with CALS students?
Take advantage of all the resources here! The CALS academic and career advisors are fantastic, and they definitely helped guide me to excel in my studies and figure out what I want to do post-grad.
What do you like most about being a CALS student?
I really enjoyed the robust curriculum here; I’m really grateful for the opportunity to take a lot of interesting courses across different subjects in the life sciences.
If you had to eat one Babcock ice cream flavor for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
I love the Lemon Ginger Babcock ice cream. It tastes light, fresh, and summery, and the lemon flavor is bright and zesty. Maybe it’s because it’s a limited time flavor, but I think about the Babcock Lemon Ginger ice cream a lot.
What’s your favorite thing about the city of Madison?
My favorite thing about Madison is Lake Mendota; I really enjoy taking walks along the lake, and it has a fantastic view.