What I Do

I study different venom compositions of snakes, centipedes, and scorpions, and my dissertation is focused on the evolution of venom resistance. To do that, I inject fruit flies, a model organism in genetics, with really, really dilute doses of centipede venom. I  sequence the genomes of the ones that are now resistant compared to the first generation and as well as a control to look at differences in genetics between them to figure out which genes are responsible for evolving that resistance.

Lifelong Passion

I’ve been interested in venom and creep crawly animals since I was a kid— my nickname was “Dirtball.” I was always out catching things and bringing them home. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school, and to do that I had to study something that I knew would continue to captivate my interest the entire time. It’s been interesting to me my whole life, so it will continue to be interesting.

More Than Money

I’ve always said, "happiness is not overrated," so I couldn’t do something just for the money. That’s not where I find my motivation. I have found mentors in my graduate program. Dr. Darin Rokyta and Dr. Kimberly Hughes have helped foster my passions. They also motivated me to become a mentor. Mentoring helps me stay inspired because we sometimes forget where our initial interests and curiosities came from. When I am talking to students and they ask questions, it kind of reminds me where I've come from and how far I've come.

Why FSU?

Part of the program is that you come to work with a specific PI (Primary Investigator), so a specific mentor who’s the head of the lab. I came to work specifically with Dr. Rokyta because his name is all over the literature in terms of venom research, and he’s in the U.S., so I wasn’t ready to jump ship yet. What I really liked about his work was that it was ground up, like figuring out what’s in the venom, how is it changing?

End Game

Ultimately my interests are how to use venom in medicine, but there’s a big jump from going to the animal to going into a patient. Instead of focusing on the end part, I want to know “where the venom is coming from? What’s in it? How’s it changing? How’s does it actually work?” And I’ll then seen about the later steps.

Advice

Really don’t do it [graduate school] unless you’re sure, and that doesn’t mean you have to be sure in terms of what specifically you’re going to study. But sure in terms of that’s what you want, not what you’re parents want, not what someone else wants for you, but what you want. If that motivation and drive isn’t coming from inside of you, it’s going to be a lot harder to make it.