BLaST Scientist of the Month: Jennie Humphrey
December 9, 2019
Jennie Humphrey has been named December's Scientist of the Month for the Biomedical Learning and Student Training Program. Humphrey is a third-year BLaST scholar and a senior at UAF. She is graduating this December with a bachelor of science degree in wildlife biology and a minor in sustainable agriculture. From Haines, Alaska, she has a deep appreciation for her community and the small-town lifestyle, and is excited to contribute to it in the future. Outside of academia, Humphrey enjoys outdoor sports, aerial silks, gardening, subsistence activities and quality time with loved ones. After graduation she will be traveling to New Mexico to reconnect with friends and family.
As a BLaST scholar, Humphrey has had the opportunity to work on a diverse array of research projects. Starting in the Genomics Core Lab, she gained a foundation in lab work and explored how permafrost thaw affects microbial communities, and in turn, how they alter plant productivity. She also gained experience working with the MinION, a portable DNA and RNA sequencer.
This work took her to the American Society of Microbiology on Rapid Applied Microbial Next-Generation Sequence and Bioinformatics Pipelines conference in Tysons, Virginia, in September 2018, where she co-presented a poster on rapid antibiotic resistance identification. The following October, she participated in a STEMSEAS cruise aboard the R/V Sikuliaq, where she was exposed to the basics of research at sea. With an increasing interest in food security and food sovereignty, Humphrey designed a study with the Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan to look at factors limiting food access and gauge interest in various agricultural and traditional food projects. Humphrey plans to assist Klukwan in their food security efforts when she returns to Haines.
Humphrey has been mentored by many other students and faculty throughout her academic career. On the soil microbe projects her primary mentor was associate professor and BLaST faculty pilot project awardee Devin Drown. Others in the Drown lab, including Anne-Lise Ducluzeau (a BLaST postdoc), fellow undergraduate Taylor Seitz, and graduate student Maryanne Evans, provided guidance and training. Associate professor and faculty pilot project awardee Andrea Bersamin mentored Humphrey on her food sovereignty project and helped her transition to human-based research. Humphrey’s BLaST research advising and mentoring professional, Emily Sousa, and others in the BLasT offices also offered her support and encouragement.
You can download a flyer (JPG) of Jennie Humphrey's award here. For more information, email Amy Topkok at aktopkok@alaska.edu.
BLaST is supported by the NIH Common Fund, through the Office of Strategic Coordination, Office of the NIH Director with the linked awards: TL4GM118992, RL5GM118990, UL1GM118991. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.