At MBL, Colby College Students Chart a Course in Science

Undergraduate programs are a key thread in the educational tapestry of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL). Though many know the MBL for its world-renowned Advanced Research Training Courses, the institution is also committed to offering a variety of immersive experiences for undergraduates who are exploring careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Among those that benefit from these programs is Colby College, a liberal arts school in Waterville, Maine, that has formed a lasting partnership with the MBL. Colby has a four-week January term; one of the options offered to students during this time is a two-week comparative developmental biology course at the MBL.

The course is led by Christina Cota, an assistant biology professor at Colby and an instructor in the 2015 MBL Embryology course. For the last four years, Cota has brought students to the MBL to learn about cutting-edge science from leading researchers and perform their own experiments.

This year, Colby students learned about patterning in butterflies with MBL Director Nipam Patel, heard a lecture on cephalopods from Postdoctoral Scientist Jessica Stock, visited the axolotls in Associate Scientist Karen Echeverri’s lab, and worked with tunicates alongside visiting postdoctoral research fellow Eduardo Gigante from Georgia Institute of Technology.

“They get a little bit of a lot of [animal] systems,” Cota said.

Programs like Colby’s give the next generation of scientists valuable exposure to different research areas. Other undergraduate programs at the MBL include the Semester in Environmental Science, a 15-week lab and field program focusing on ecosystem science and biogeochemistry; the Semester in Biological Discovery, a 13-week program that offers lab-based modules in topics like neurophysiology, developmental biology, and regeneration; and University of Chicago courses in spring and September, where students can focus on neuroscience, regional flora and fauna, or general biological science.

Regardless of which program they attend, undergraduates leave the MBL with a better sense of where they want to go and a newfound appreciation for research.

Inspired to A Future in Science

Studying at the MBL also imbues science with excitement. Reading papers can be dry, Colby’s Cota said, before adding: “When you hear Dr. Patel talk about butterflies, it’s not dry.”

Getting hands-on experience helps, too.

“I liked spending so much time in the lab,” said Samuel Maunsell, a Colby junior majoring in biology with a neuroscience concentration.

“It’s been a good experience to see the variety of tools and opportunities in a space like this,” Daniel Stokes said. Stokes is a senior double-majoring in biology (neuroscience concentration) and computer science. Anish Kusumanchi, a junior biology major concentrating in neuroscience, expressed a similar sentiment.

“It’s pretty awesome, all the equipment we have here,” he said.

Though the Colby students’ time at MBL is short, it has already led to tangible changes for more than one Colby student. Senior Chloe Hample-Forcier, who took the MBL course for a second time this year, is completing her honors thesis on butterfly genetics thanks to the MBL’s influence.

Junior Aileen Dominguez, on the other hand, entered this year’s program as a chemistry major, but has since switched to major in biology, with a concentration in neuroscience. She called her time at the MBL “really fascinating” and said it made her consider further pursuing research.

Other Colby students also spoke of how their time at MBL has influenced their future plans. Kusumanchi said it cleared up his questions on what a research environment might look like and made research more appealing. Hanna Noyes, a sophomore studying neuroscience and data science, highlighted the various talks the students got to hear through the program.

It was “nice to see that I can have a future in research,” she said.