Research fellow: Jaclyn Friedman
Hometown: Fanwood, NJ
Major: Marine Biology
School: University of Rhode Island
Mentors: Serena Moseman-Valtierra & Rose Martin
Project: How does invasive species introduction affect carbon cycling in coastal marshes

As a rising senior and biology major, Jaclyn Friedman is no rookie when it comes to research. And yet, her RI NSF EPSCoR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship provided a completely new and different experience.

Past opportunities focused on algal DNA. This summer, Friedman has been investigating greenhouse gas fluxes in coastal marshes.

“This is very different from the other research,” Friedman said. “It’s all very interesting. I’ve learned a lot — more than what I could have imagined.”

Friedman is working in the lab of URI Assistant Professor Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Department of Biological Sciences, under the guidance of Ph.D. student and former EPSCoR graduate fellow Rose Martin.

Friedman explained how a chamber placed over plants and soil in marsh zones measures the activity of gases. By taking measurements both in ambient conditions and after adding nitrogen, she said she could make comparisons and determine whether adding nitrogen affects the uptake or emission of gases.

Although previous studies have not found nitrogen to have an effect, Friedman said her statistics indicated that nitrogen did impact methane emissions. Friedman will present her findings at the 8th Annual RI SURF Conference, held at URI on Friday, July 31. An estimated 130 Rhode Island undergraduates will participate in the event, co-sponsored by Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR and Rhode Island IDeA Network for Excellence in Biomedical Research (INBRE).

This experience with plants that are more terrestrial than algae has Friedman considering a wider range of possibilities than her original marine focus. She said she was always interested in the ocean, having spent her summers at the shore.

“Now, I’m interested in what we’re doing here,” said Friedman, who will graduate in May. “Ideally, I’d like to attend grad school and continue to do research. I really like that there’s always something new to find. Just from this 10-week program, I had no idea — there is always something new.”

Story and photo by Amy Dunkle