Summer Research with Dr. Dodson
Biology majors Jackson Thompson and Savannah Voigt are doing research on plants this summer under the supervision of Principle Investigator Dr. Michael Dodson, assistant professor of biology in the Department of Sciences and Mathematics.
Dr. Dodson is the department’s plant and ecology specialist. He teaches classes in these subjects and leads independent research studies.
Thompson is working with Dodson under a MS-INBRE Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) grant awarded to Dodson and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH.) The grant pays Thompson a $6000 stipend to do research over the summer with Dodson. Jackson is investigating the levels of microplastics and heavy metals in area edible plants.
Voigt is doing her summer research as part of the MUW Summer Scholars program, which provides her with tuition, housing, and meals for the summer. She will also receive academic credit for independent study (BSB 499 Independent Study in Biology.) Voigt is investigating the levels of microplastics and heavy metals in the soils sampled at various locations around campus and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Summer research is an excellent opportunity for students to develop and hone professional and critical-thinking skills in a personalized environment that will prove useful regardless of which direction their professional lives ultimately take them. The Department of Sciences and Mathematics, and The W in general, encourages all of its students to take part in independent research projects with faculty, and tries to provide as many opportunities as possible for interested students.
