Garrett Savory
Garrett Savory, Biology and Wildlife graduate student, received a 2023-2024 Mentor Award to bring Molly Cook, Senior in Biological Sciences, onto his research study titled, Do serum amino acid nitrogen isotope ratios capture declines in captive muskox body condition?
Body condition measures are critical in wildlife health and nutrition studies, but accurate estimates (e.g., palpation, ultrasound) can be difficult to obtain on free-ranging wildlife. Nitrogen isotope ratios (NIR) of whole or “bulk” tissues have been used to assess protein balance in animals, though using NIR of amino acids may be a more refined and informative method.
From 2001-2010, husbandry changes for muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Large Animal Research Station reduced protein/energy intake. This was complicated by deficient trace mineral levels in the forage and pelleted feed resulting in poor to emaciated body condition. From 2011 on, muskox health improved after increased protein/energy intake and correction of other deficiencies. This study is evaluating both bulk and amino acid NIR in blood serum samples from individual muskoxen that were collected prior to, during, and after this mortality event.
The primary aim of Garrett's project is to compare the sensitivity of serum bulk NIR and amino acid NIR to body mass loss in muskoxen and develop a biomarker for body condition based on multiple amino acid NIRs. This study is unique because it takes advantage of a highly unusual and tragic situation to characterize biomarkers of body mass loss. Results from this study may lead to the creation of a biomarker to assess body condition in wildlife populations. A biomarker could also have applicability in human health applications, for example, in determining whether weight loss was accompanied with changing protein status. For the URSA Mentor Award, Garrett has brought on Molly Cook to work on the bulk nitrogen isotope analysis piece of this project.
How is your project going so far this semester?
Garrett: We have made excellent progress on our project. For the portion of the project being conducted under the URSA Mentor Award, we have completed all tasks we have set out to do. Molly has prepared all our serum samples for submission to the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility at UAF for bulk nitrogen stable isotope analysis and conducted data review. We have conducted preliminary analysis of the data. And, Molly has created and presented a poster for UAF Research and Creative Activity Day. The research conducted under the URSA Mentor Award has contributed significantly to the overall project. Overall, a great success!
How did you find out about URSA and what encouraged you to submit an application for funding?
Garrett: I have known about URSA from various communications during my PhD program. I have also had students in my labs as a Teaching Assistant participate in URSA. My Graduate Advisory Committee Chair, Diane O’Brien, informed me about the URSA Mentor Award and encouraged me to apply. This award has given me an opportunity improve upon my mentoring skills which will be useful in helping me train other researchers in the future. I also like how it gives undergraduate students an opportunity to learn how to conduct scientific research with a mentor. It also gives undergraduate students who may not have had an idea of research of their own an opportunity to do research which may lead to them coming up with research of their own in the future.
How has your undergraduate mentoring experience been thus far?
Garrett:The URSA Mentor Award has been an excellent opportunity. I enjoyed my experience mentoring Molly this past academic year. For one, I was able to gain experience as a mentor. But most importantly, I was able to help Molly gain research experience and laboratory skills. Every time we met, I saw Molly improving as a researcher. I found it very cool that Molly had the opportunity to do a poster presentation at UAF Research and Creative Activity Day as a sort of capstone to her research experience. My mentorship with Molly has been very much worth the energy and time.
If you could share one piece of advice with prospective URSA Mentors, what would you say?
Garrett:I think just being there for the mentee and listening to their needs are some of the most important pieces of advice I can share. Additionally, being patient with the mentee and letting them know it’s ok to mess up; remind them they are learning and communicate when things go wrong. I made sure to be as organized as I could before and during the mentorship with Molly. I also let her work more independently from me as time progressed. Trusting in each other is also important. The mentor/mentee agreement helped with setting out expectations from both of us and I think helped to “jump start” the trust between us in our mentorship. Finally, as a mentor, you are there for your mentee; I reminded myself of this all the time.
How did you come to work with your mentor on this URSA project in particular?
Molly: I found this research opportunity on the URSA website. What initially sparked my interest in this project was the fact that this research project involves muskox, which are pretty fascinating animals. Not everyone gets the opportunity to work with samples from such an interesting animal, so I had to jump on the opportunity. This was my first time doing research through URSA, and I was pleased to discover that they offer a stipend for the mentee assisting with the research. As a full time college student that is unable to work full time, this is definitely a really nice benefit. You essentially get paid to learn and gain experience, which I think is pretty awesome.
How does your work on this URSA project relate to your career or personal goals?
Molly: I will be applying to veterinary schools this fall, so research involving animal physiology is always applicable to certain components of veterinary medicine. Working with blood serum samples in particular is very applicable to veterinary medicine since diagnostic tests using blood serum are extremely common in practice as a means to test for various diseases in order to provide the appropriate treatment. Working with these samples throughout this research project has also been beneficial in improving my laboratory technique and has allowed me to become more familiar with common laboratory equipment. Overall, I learned much more about how an animal's body uses different nitrogen isotope ratios and the various factors that can influence these ratios, and will be able to apply this knowledge in vet school.
If you could share one piece of advice with other undergraduate students looking to join a mentored project on campus, what would you say?
Molly: One piece of advice I would give an undergraduate student interested in joining a mentored project on campus would be to check the URSA website daily for new opportunities. When an opportunity to join a research project is advertised widely, the position is often filled pretty quickly. If you see an opportunity you are interested in then I would recommend reaching out immediately.
When it comes to the research itself, don't be discouraged if you do not completely understand all of the components of the project or the data analysis right away. Working under a mentor is designed to be a learning experience for you.