Research fellow: Sara Hunt
Hometown: Kingston, NH
School: Roger Williams University
Majors: Biology, Chemistry

Having worked in a research lab for the past year, Sara Hunt, a rising junior, finds herself in a common place as many of her peers — exploring her chosen field of study, developing skills, and learning techniques.

And yet, the question remains: “What do I want to do?”

As a Rhode Island EPSCoR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF), Hunt is spending her summer in the lab of Associate Professor Avelina Espinosa, investigating the chemical signaling of Entamoeba species while contemplating this existential right of passage.

“This is my first real step into full-time research,” says Hunt. “I’m trying to figure out if I want to continue doing research.”

The project with Espinosa aims to use Entamoeba spp. as models to explore the effects of environmental stress in marine protists brought on by climate change. Understanding chemical signaling at the unicellular level will help researchers understand the impact of environmental stresses, including climate change, on freshwater, marine and parasitic marine protists, or single-celled organisms.

“There are a lot of questions that come up along the way and learning how to fix things, looking to see what’s working and what’s not, and making readjustments. I’ve learned a lot of small things that I didn’t anticipate.”

In addition to the SURF internship being her first full-time research experience, Hunt says the opportunity also provides exposure to what she might expect from working on an open-ended project in a hands-on, experiential environment. The 10-week SURF program also provides students with a $4,500 stipend plus up to $500 for research supplies and professional development and networking events. The experience culminates with the annual RI SURF Conference, the largest presentation of undergraduate research in the state.

A late June day in the Espinosa lab finds Hunt working on a migration experiment with the Entamoeba. She gestures to three small chambers and explains how she will fill the center tube with cells of one species and the side tubes with media where the cells of same and different strains have been removed.

“We want to see if the cells go toward or away from the same strain,” Hunt explains. “That will help us to learn more about the signaling molecules and give us more information about the pathogenesis of Entamoeba.”

The work poses challenges and demands problem solving, she adds: “There definitely have been struggles, finding methods that work. I’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks now, trying to find a setup that doesn’t leak and remains sterile. And, I don’t have any results, yet. A lot of it is trial and error.”

This, says Hunt, offers a genuine look at not just the day-to-day lab work, but also substantial insight to the scientific process.

“It’s not straightforward,” she says, smiling. “There are a lot of questions that come up along the way and learning how to fix things, looking to see what’s working and what’s not, and making readjustments. I’ve learned a lot of small things that I didn’t anticipate.”

Story and photo by Amy Dunkle