Rob M
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of Wisconsin - Madison

Expertise

Population Genetics, Mutation, Evolution, Molecular Biology, Biology, Genetics, Molecular Evolution, Statistics, Mutation Accumulation, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, S. cerevisiae

Bio

Hello, I am a fifth year PhD candidate at UW Madison in the department of Biology. My research focuses on mutation, where I use Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) to study how sex influences the number, type, and fitness effects of mutations. I am interested in all things mutation related! I have taught introductory biology lab here at UW for six semesters, and coordinated the course for one. I absolutely love working with students and making science approachable for them. Students I have worked with have completed unique projects ranging from science based fictional stories to award winning science fair projects to peer reviewed and published research. I have worked with over 15 students as a mentor and would love to work with you! In my free time I enjoy hanging out with my three cats, Crouton, Vixen, and Zeke, who are adorable and love to lay in the sun! I like seeing my friends, listening to music, cooking, and photography. I hope to mentor students with an excitement about research and a curiosity about Biology!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Investigating a familial genetic background of colorblindness

This study would work with a mentee to delve into their family history to create a detailed genealogy of their family history of colorblindness. Colorblindness is known to be a single locus sex-linked trait that is more prevalent in males than females. Mentees would survey their family in order to create a pedigree while learning more about how genes influence traits, how heterozygosity can show dominant and recessive traits, and additional topics in genetics and molecular biology.

Studying mutational patterns of COVID-19

In this project I worked with a student to download genomes from widespread variants of COVID-19 and investigate genetic variance between major strains. This project was super cool and allowed for better understanding of how genetically diverged major strains of COVID-19 are.

Investigating mutations associated with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH)

In this project I helped a student identify mutations that are likely to be related to FH by looking at genetic data from patients. We looked at what genes the mutations were located in, what the mutations looked like, and what biological processes and molecular functions may be associated with the development of this disease.

Coding skills

R Studio

Teaching experience

I have previously been a TA at the University of Wisconsin - Madison for Introductory Biology Lab courses. This involves me directly instructing students for three hours per week and helping develop their skills as budding researchers. We talk about lab techniques as well as how to write a scientific articles and much more. I have also mentored numerous undergrads who help out in the lab I work in. Some of them have gone on to PhD school, genetic counseling, and other awesome STEM roles.