Research fellow: Mikayla Lopes
Hometown: Warren, RI
School: Rhode Island College
Major: Biology
Mentor: Rebeka Merson
Project: Impacts of legacy and emerging chemicals of concern on elasmobranch fishes

Mikayla Lopes, heading into her senior year, spent summers past working various jobs — restaurant server, camp counselor — that are typical rites of passage for many young adults.

This summer, however, Lopes is working full time as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) with Associate Professor Rebeka Merson, investigating the impact of environmental contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs) on the embryonic development of apex predators, such as sharks, which sit atop the the food chain. The project uses skates, a flat, bottom-dwelling fish, as a model.

“It’s weird to have a professional job,” says Lopes of the full-time fellowship funded by Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR. “I’ve had summer jobs, but it’s really cool to be doing something you love. This — research — is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

The project focuses on the response of one protein, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), which the chemical binds to and then moves into the cell nucleus, where it alters the protein’s function and disrupts development.

Lopes is spending much of the 10-week SURF experience working at the Environmental Protection Agency lab in Narragansett, near the University of Rhode Island Bay Campus. Among her duties, she says, she feeds the skates, checks for mortality, changes water and cleans tanks, removes embryos from their cases, tracks data, and images individual blood cells.

This is her first time conducting hands-on research, Lopes notes: “It’s really cool. I like the experimentation process, finding things out and answering questions.”

In kindergarten, Lopes says, she wanted to be a veterinarian, but that dream evolved as she grew up. She thought she might be interested in mathematics, but found science to be her calling, watching a lot of Bill Nye the Science Guy during her middle school years.

Then, says Lopes, “I had Dr. Merson for vertebrate zoology and I really liked the way she taught. I asked her about research opportunities and she told me about the SURF program.”

Looking ahead to her post graduation plans, Lopes contemplates the possibilities. She says she always wanted to do Peace Corps work and may consider graduate school, but not right away.

“I might work in a hospital as a research assistant and see if that’s more what I want to get into,” she says. “I’ve always like genetics and evolution. I like research, but I want to find my focus.”

Story and photos by Amy Dunkle