ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Jessica Kennedy and Lauren Gill are authors on ‘ Ice in the intertidal: patterns and processes of freeze tolerance in intertidal invertebrates’, published in JEB. Jessica is a PhD student in the lab of Caitlin Blain and Nick Shears at the University of Aukland Leigh Marine Lab, New Zealand, investigating how marine species cope with changing environments, with a particular interest in their physiology. Lauren is a Graduate Student in the lab of Katie Marshall at the University of British Columbia, Canada, investigating how invertebrates handle extreme temperatures.
Jessica Kennedy (left) and Lauren Gill (right)
How did you become interested in biology?
Jess: My favourite subjects in school were English and biology, and I've always loved the ocean so studying marine science was a great fit.
Lauren: I've always been curious about how living things worked and as a kid spent a lot of time daydreaming about being a veterinarian. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to continue being curious about biology – even now!
Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus
Jess: I started getting involved in research by volunteering in labs as an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia, which sparked my interest in research and led me to decide to pursue an honours degree. I met Dr Katie Marshall after she did a guest lecture for one of my courses, and eventually went on to conduct my honours research project in her lab on intertidal mussel freeze tolerance. And the rest is history! In all seriousness though, doing my honours and Masters research in Katie's lab was such a great experience. Katie's enthusiasm for research really rubbed off on me, I try to channel it on days when my motivation is low! I was also incredibly lucky to be co-supervised by Dr Chris Harley during my Masters, who is another amazing and inspiring scientist. After completing my Masters, I took a year off to travel. I then applied to work with Drs Caitlin Blain and Nick Shears at the University of Auckland and am currently working on my PhD with them at the Leigh Marine Lab. My current research focus is understanding the carbon sequestration potential of macroalgae.
Lauren: During my undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia, I became interested in physiology through my coursework. I knew that at some point I wanted to give research a go but was not sure how to get into it. Luckily, UBC has a great biology honours program which led me to Dr Katie Marshall, and I completed an honours research project on intertidal mussel freeze tolerance. Jess was already a Masters student in Katie's lab at the time and was an incredible help for showing me the ropes. After completing my honours project I spent a semester at Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, where I did a research project on an invasive tunicate species, and then spent a summer with Dr Vianey Leos-Barajas at the University of Toronto, where I modelled the movement patterns of great white sharks. All of these experiences shaped my love for research, and I am now completing my Masters degree with Katie, where I'm answering some more questions about mussel freeze tolerance while also exploring the thermal limits of a terrestrial slug species.
How would you explain the main findings/message of your paper to a member of the public?
Jess and Lauren: A surprisingly large number of organisms can survive being temporarily frozen, which is quite astonishing if you consider how uncomfortable that must be! The scientific community is still unsure about how exactly these organisms are able to accomplish this incredible feat. One particularly understudied group of freeze-tolerant organisms are intertidal invertebrates – animals without a backbone that live in the intertidal zone (the coastal region between the high and low tide mark). We compiled all previous research on intertidal invertebrate freeze tolerance in this review to assess the current state of knowledge and identify future research directions. We pointed out many gaps in our current understanding of this topic: many species have not been assessed for their ability to survive freezing, and many geographic regions have been overlooked. We also detail our current understanding of the mechanisms that may enable intertidal invertebrates to survive freezing. Better understanding of intertidal invertebrate freeze tolerance has many important implications, such as predicting how the intertidal ecosystem may be affected by extreme cold events, as well as the potential biomedical applications of understanding the mechanisms which confer survival after freezing.
Mussel beds at low tide at Tower Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. UBC Vancouver campus is situated on the coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, which means that for researchers who are interested in intertidal species, we're only steps away from our study organisms which makes for fairly easy field work. However, during winter (which is your ‘busy season’ if you study freeze tolerance) low tides occur in the wee hours of the morning, so we usually don't get to appreciate the view!
Mussel beds at low tide at Tower Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. UBC Vancouver campus is situated on the coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, which means that for researchers who are interested in intertidal species, we're only steps away from our study organisms which makes for fairly easy field work. However, during winter (which is your ‘busy season’ if you study freeze tolerance) low tides occur in the wee hours of the morning, so we usually don't get to appreciate the view!
What do you enjoy most about research, and why?
Jess: I really enjoy how every day is different. There are periods when you're running experiments where you effectively do the same thing every day, but generally I'm lucky to have been able to get a lot of varied experiences across my time as an MSc and PhD student: a mix of field work, lab work, teaching, taking some courses myself, attending conferences and research seminars, writing, and helping other lab mates with their projects and/or field work.
Lauren: My favourite thing about research is the freedom and creativity that I get to express. Especially in a field like invertebrate freeze tolerance, there are so many unanswered questions and even more possible methods that can be used to answer them.
What is your favourite animal, and why?
Jess: I love whale sharks. I saw a whale shark when SCUBA diving in the Philippines, which was a top three life experience for me! I also really appreciate how rugged and mysterious Greenland sharks are, they're my second favourite friendly shark.
Lauren: I love black-capped chickadees because I hear them every morning and they are cute!
What is the most important lesson that you have learned from your career so far?
Jess: One important lesson I learnt was to not be afraid to ask questions. Especially when you're just starting out working in a lab, it can sometimes feel like you're bugging all the important PhD students and postdocs by asking them silly questions. But, what you quickly realize is that all scientists are always working together and helping each other out, and your questions are not silly or dumb. There's no use struggling alone when someone else in your lab may have already encountered that problem in the past and figured out a solution, so it's always better to ask for help.
Lauren: I've learned to appreciate and take advantage of the opportunities that come my way! Whether it's a cool class, a working group, an internship, committee etc., I've learned something from every experience that I can draw on today to make myself a better scientist. One of my favourite parts about grad school is there are endless opportunities to take part in and I think that these ‘bonus’ experiences have made me a more well-rounded scientist and introduced me to topics and people that I wouldn't have known otherwise!
Jessica Kennedy's contact details: University of Auckland Leigh Marine Lab, 160 Goat Island Road, Leigh 0985, New Zealand.
Lauren Gill's contact details: University of British Columbia, UBC Biological Sciences Building, 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
