Adrienne Brauer knows all about preparation, cadence, tempo and pace as a long-distance runner on the cross country and track teams at Southeast Missouri State University.
This summer, though, she’s repurposing those skills off the course in a National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) at Washington University in St. Louis. Adrienne, of Oakford, Illinois, is a microbiology major with a minor in chemistry. She’s hoping her experience at Washington University helps prepare her for her next step in her educational journey.
At Wash U, she’s working with Dr. Petra Levin, biology professor and co-director of the plant and microbial biosciences graduate program, conducting research examining E. coli’s ability to become more antibiotic resistant under stress. She says she’s studying how E. coli replicate their DNA during rapid growth.
Adrienne says that her time in the lab has been particularly rewarding and productive thanks to the two years of research she has spent in Dr. Jeremy Ellermeier’s lab at Southeast.
Adrienne also is attending seminars and research classes at Washington University to learn helpful skills for graduate school, and she will participate in a poster presentation of her research at the conclusion of the program.Outside of the lab, Adrienne and the other undergraduate interns have been attending classes and workshops to improve their research skills and prepare them for graduate school.
And in her down time, Adrienne is still preparing for her senior season of cross country and track and field: because she’s living near Forest Park, she’s also running in the park almost every day.
A Special thank you to the SEMO News Bureau for this story; read the complete story about Adrienne’s summer research at https://news.semo.edu/southeast-student-exploring-e-coli-dna-replication-in-nsf-summer-research.
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