Sabrina Talir

Undergraduate Fellow

What does day-to-day look like?

“For the last two weeks we’ve been transplanting Plantago lanceolata seedlings that were grown in trays into the bay that we’re using. And we prepared to do that all the first week and then Friday they all died over the weekend. We had planted around 300 or so. So we’ve replanted them all this week, but they’re all good now. Now we’re planting the leftovers into pots and we’re measuring the leaf length and width and how many leaves.”

What is something you’ve said to your friends about what you do?

“’Well, y’know, we’re just weeding and then we’re gonna plant new weeds.’”

Six weeks later...

What have you learned so far this summer?

“I’ve learned a lot about overcoming mundane tasks, like a lot of measuring things. We've measured so many leaves!”

Is there anything that surprised you so far?

“Realizing that the research we're doing and the data that we’re collecting was really going to contribute to something real, which I don't think hit me when I applied for the fellowship. Not too much of a surprise, but a realization.”

Sabrina worked with Rachel Penczykowski's Plant Disease team during summer 2018. Learn more about their host-pathogen coevolution research here.