Sophie Gaynor, currently a junior biology and math major, was awarded an $800 Gerace Research Centre (GRC) Student Grant to allow her to travel to the Bahamas and conduct field research. The grant will also offer reduced room & board charges while at the field station, free vehicle use, and free unlimited dive tank rentals while conducting the research at the center. The title of her grant proposal is: “Determining the reliability of using ITS regions to understand the phylogenetic relationship of the hydrozoan Millepora.”
Gaynor will be travelling to the Bahamas with biology professor Craig Tepper for two weeks in June where she will begin to carry out the research specified in the grant proposal. Additionally, she will present her research (from last summer) at the 14th Annual Natural History of the Bahamas conference that will take place during her stay at the center. The title of her presentation at the conference is: “Can Symbionts be used to Understand Coral Evolution?”