“I keep learning new techniques and procedures, and we read papers as a lab group. It’s stuff like this that really sparks an interest for learning more. Sometimes, it’s hard to find that passion in the classroom.”

Research fellow: Ana McMenamin
Hometown: Vienna, VA
School: University of Rhode Island
Major: Marine Biology

Ana McMenamin grew up spending her summers on the Rappahannock River in eastern Virginia. Her childhood was filled with memories of catching crabs and fish, and asking all sorts of questions about why things were the way they were.

“I wanted to know why the water was more clear in the winter and why there were algae blooms in the summer,” McMenamin laughs. “I wanted to know what was going on with the river and why.”

No surprise, then, that biology turned out to be a favorite subject in school.

“I didn’t necessarily know that I wanted to do marine biology,” she says, “but I knew I loved the water — the oceans and the rivers.”

When McMenamin, now a rising sophomore in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), faced the choice of college, the decision came down to University of Rhode Island and a school in Florida. She had never been to any of the New England states, but on admitted students day at URI, she knew the Kingston campus was a good fit.

Rather than return home for the summer, McMenamin earned a slot this spring in the Rhode Island EPSCoR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, investigating the resistance of eastern oysters to Dermo disease to help determine which aquaculture lines might be more suited to resist or tolerate the disease. Selectively breeding for Dermo resistance offers a practical, effective approach to minimize the disease’s impact and yields a more hardy oyster, and improved Dermo resistance will enhance the economic viability of the eastern oyster aquaculture industry.

“Essentially, I’m extracting oyster DNA to quantify the Dermo infection,” explains McMenamin, who is working under the guidance of mentor Dina Proestou, Ph.D., CELS Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, and US Department of Agriculture. “First, I have to cut the oyster tissue into little pieces and make sure they’re a standard size. Then, I extract the DNA through a process using chemicals and incubation, heating and cooling, and centrifusion. Then, I have to quantify the amount of Dermo in the oyster.”

When she extracts the oyster DNA, the DNA of the parasite P. marinus, which causes Dermo, also gets extracted from the oyster tissue. Her task is to calculate the infection level to help determine if some families of oysters are either able to expel the disease better than others or survive despite the infection. Those oysters with a low level indicate resistance; others find a way to survive with a higher tolerance to the disease.

McMenamin says the SURF research experience is new for her, but she came to the program with a background in oysters and selective breeding, having volunteered at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), which happens to be both near her home and a collaborator on the Proestou project: “At VIMS, I did more of the field work and taking care of the oyster tanks. Now, I’m getting to do the lab work. It’s cool to see the back end — before, I was doing the oyster feeding and now I’m doing the lab work that follows. Being at VIMS, I heard the researchers talking about the project.”

Although graduation is a few years away, McMenamin, whose parents instilled in her a passion for the environment, says she definitely wants to pursue graduate school. The coming years will give her a chance to explore more in the lab and out in the field to see where her interests lie.

“SURF has been really fun,” she says. “It’s a fast pace of learning and that is what is keeping me so entertained and enthusiastic in the lab. We have 4,000 samples to process! I keep learning new techniques and procedures, and we read papers as a lab group. It’s stuff like this that really sparks an interest for learning more. Sometimes, it’s hard to find that passion in the classroom.”

Story and photos by Amy Dunkle