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Laura Chen Researches Effects of Nutrient Fluxuation on Protozoa

Laura ChenLaura Chen is particularly interested in the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, those that can be transmitted from non-humans to humans. To prepare herself for veterinary school and possibly a master's in public health, Laura has double-majored in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources and Animal Science. To obtain hands-on research experience, she sought out a laboratory position in her sophomore year and has been working with Dr. Peter Morin ever since. Laura is enrolled in the SEBS honor program where she received research credits for her work, and now she is preparing her George H. Cook Scholar senior thesis.

Laura designed her own project to investigate the effects of fluctuations in nutrient levels on protozoa. This study mimics real-world environments in which influxes of nutrients from municipal or agricultural sources arrive in pulses rather than in steady supply. She cultured protozoa (Euplotes eurystomas, photo right) in chemostats (below) and supplied them with various nutrient regimes, which in turn altered the numbers of their prey bacteria. She administered high levels of nutrients (alfalfa that she ground and autoclaved) either weekly or every two days, and compared the population growth of these protozoa to those grown in environments where the nutrients were kept at a steady level. Laura found that protozoan population numbers were depressed in highly fluctuating nutrient regimes when compared to the steady-state population, and that this result was strongest for those on the weekly nutrient cycle.

chemostat experiment

This experience has helped Laura see things at the broader level rather than just at the level of the individual, and has helped shape her interests in zoonotic disease epidemiology.  This summer, she has an exciting opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic as part of a medical mission project.  Her mother, an MD, organizes these trips to provide medical services to under-served communities there, providing antiparasitic drugs, basic supplies, and standard medications.   Then, Laura will move to North Carolina State University College of Veterinarian Medicine to start what will no doubt be another very interesting chapter in her career.