Seeking UBRP Students for Summer 2024 (and beyond?)

March 13, 2024 /
An overhead view of the Maricopa Agricultural Center with its distinct “gantry”.

The Meredith Research Group is currently seeking an undergraduate student(s) from the 2024 UofA Undergraduate Biology Research Program. 

We will use a mass spectrometer and soil incubations to measure how abiotic and biotic soil factors changes with the addition of specific VOC with time. We expect to identify VOC-consuming microbes and try to elucidate how VOC stabilizes carbon in soils. Some of the questions that we will ask will be:

i) How microbial communities changes in diversity and abundance with specific VOC addition? ii) Identify VOC- consuming microbes to identify consumption and production of VOCs.

Over Summer 2024 (and potentially into Fall) the student will help with volatilome, metagenome, transcriptome, metabolome sampling and data analysis to have a new understanding of the role of VOCs in soil C cycling and stabilization and in soil ecological and metabolic interactions. 

The student will receive experience working in the field at the Maricopa Agricultural Center; from preparation, installation, measurements, sampling and wrapping up a research campaign.

Please send inquiries to Dr. Laura Meredith (laurameredith@email.arizona.edu)