Emily Perry

Snapshot

  • Honours BioPNB Level IV student researching microbial competition and host-symbiont co-evolution

  • Currently in a thesis

  • Position obtained through: Attending the Bio thesis night, spoke to Dr. Doyle, and emailed to follow up

  • Rhizobia are nitrogen fixing bacteria that form symbiotic relationships with legume species. They transform atmospheric nitrogen into plant usable compounds and in return, are rewarded with energy from their host plant. Their impact in agriculture is often less than expected, suggesting that there is some factor reducing their nitrogen-fixing abilites and/or their ability to form a mutualistic relationship with their hosts (reducing their quality). I am exploring multi-strain interactions to observe whether their inter-strain competition affects their quality.

  • Future plans: I am continuing research during my M.Sc at McMaster University in Biology!

“Attend your program thesis night and talk to the professors who are there. Start emailing professors to ask about thesis positions as early as Sept-Oct of your third year. Personally I believe it is more worth your time to spend a lot of time on a few good quality emails rather than copy/pasting a dozen mid-quality emails - quality over quantity. Be professional but not cold. It is okay to show personality in your email as long as it is appropriate and it can help you stand out from the crowd. Don't let yourself believe you're "too behind" or "don't have enough experience" to try.”