Hello! My name is Violet Rowland, I am a graduating Senior majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and minoring in Biochemistry. In my lab, we study a process called segmentation. Think of yourself and how you have a backbone made of many repeating vertebrae- these are each segments (repeating subunits in the body plan)! During development we need to make these segments, which is called segmentation. We are trying to understand how this process evolved since you and me (and all vertebrates) are segmented but so are other animals like worms and insects. I study segmentation in the fruit fly and red flour beetle to hopefully better understand this process and how it evolved. I think it’s cool how we can learn so much from these small insects that can be applicable to humans and other animals! In the future, I plan to pursue my PhD and I hope to become a research professor!
