Sierra Pete, MS ’23. Sierra is from western Montana and is a proud enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. Before pursuing a master’s degree in biology Sierra graduated with a BFA in ceramics. She is an active member, artist, and competitive dancer in her Native American community.
Sierra is the Benowitz-Fredericks Lab’s first graduate student! She started the M.S. program in the Fall of 2019 after a field season on Middleton Island, AK. Her research aims to understand the relationships between energy metabolism, growth metrics, behavior, social status, survival and food availability in Black-legged kittiwake nestlings. She worked closely with lab members to extract DNA, determine sex of chicks using PCR, and run metabolite assays. She returned to Middleton Island in Summer 2021 to finish what she thought was her last season of fieldwork, but was asked to return yet again in 2022 to act as crew leader for the whole island for the second half of the summer. She defended her thesis in May 2023 to a packed and appreciative audience. As of 2024, she is Bucknell’s costume studio manager for Theater and Dance.
Sierra strives to continually love and appreciate the outdoors, follow and trust her curiosity, and use her newly acquired knowledge to become an active scientist in her Native community.
Taiba Khan, ’22. Taiba was a Biology major who joined the lab in Fall of 2019. In 2019, she conducted DNA extractions, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and gel imaging. In 2020, she began working with the software BORIS to collect behavioral observations on black-legged kittiwakes using video footage from Middleton Island to explore the effects of chick aggression on growth rate. Outside of the lab, she is interested in behavioral and thought disorders in children and young adults. As of 2024, Taiba is in medical school.
Stephanie Lin, ’22. Stephanie was a Biology major who joined the lab in fall 2019. During her term in the lab, she has learned and mentored others on DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis, and conducted many colorimetric glucose assays. From 2021-2022, she collaborated with labmates Eadaoin Kelly and Sierra Pete in researching the effects of disturbance levels on blood metabolite levels and behavior of black-legged kittiwake chicks (poster presented at Pacific Seabird Group 2022). Outside of the lab, she enjoys hiking with her friends and making various baked goods. As of 2024, Stephanie is working as a pharmaceuticals quality control analyst while preparing for medical school applications.
Eadaoin Kelly, ’22. Eadaoin was an Animal Behavior major who procured funding to do seabird work at Middleton Island, AK for Summer 2020, but was CoVID-delayed until summer 2021. She spent several months living at the field station in the Gulf of Alaska, learning how to measure, monitor, band and bleed multiple species of seabirds, assisted Dr. BenFred and Sierra Pete with their research projects on black-legged kittiwake chicks, and conducted one of her own, investigating the effects of researcher disturbance on growth and metabolite levels (presented as a poster at the 2022 Kalman Symposium at Bucknell). Eadaoin is an outdoor education leader and a lover of kitties. She worked in environmental consulting and as of 2024, is working for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Chase Hoehn, ’21. Chase was a Biology major who joined the lab in Fall of 2019. He is developed his laboratory skills including DNA extraction, RNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, glucose assays, and large data processing. In 2020, he began analysis of the effect of fasting conditions in black-legged kittiwakes on energy metabolites. Chase was the lab’s resident coding and large data processing mentor, specializing in RStudios and command-line coding. As of 2024, Chase is an Associate Project Manager at Suvoda, working on software for clinical trials.