Philippa Tanford

Graduate Student

Have you always known that you wanted to study ecology?

“I've known for a long time that I wanted to do something in the general fields of biology or environmental science, or work in environmental preservation in some capacity. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of research I wanted to do. Growing up I had a strong interest in birds and still do. That was a big way that I experienced the natural world. My dad was a birder so he got me into it. For a while I was thinking, ‘Great. I like birds. I'll study birds.’ At college I had experience in a couple different labs that were working with birds. Doing that I realized that animal behavior and neurobiology weren't the questions that really excited me. I shifted in a more ecological direction, liked that a lot and have not looked back. Now I get to just look at birds while I'm supposed to be looking at plants.”

Have your research interests evolved at all?

“They've definitely changed. For a while I strongly considered careers that weren't even research-based—thinking about environmental education, working with an environmental nonprofit in some capacity. I decided to take a research route and I'm happy with that, but I have strong interests in how my research might apply in those contexts. As a scientist, I think your hope should be that your research will not only answer an interesting question, but also apply to real human lives and real problems we're facing in the world.”

Philippa is a member of Rachel Penczykowski’s Plant Disease team and a PhD candidate in the Evolution, Ecology and Population Biology graduate program at Washington University.