Philippa Tanford

Graduate Student

How has your scientific work changed due to the cultural landscape changes this summer?

“My personal scientific research hasn't changed, it's been delayed. But I want to be an academic. I've been thinking a lot more about the system of academia and general societal systems and how unjust they are and how I can maybe help change that system.
My work is very individual right now; there aren't really many other people involved.
Moving forward in my career, if I become a person with more and more responsibility and influence, how can I affect and change the system of academia?”

How would you describe the work that you're doing this summer to someone who's outside of your field?

“This is always a fun question. There are so many ways to approach how I describe my research to people! Here it goes.

In general, plants and soil microbes, like fungi and bacteria, can have important associations. Microbes can help, hurt, or not affect plants and vice-versa. There's a relationship there. For example, my project includes microbes in the soil, like mycorrhizal fungi, which help that plant obtain nutrients. But you may also have soil pathogens that prevent the plant from being its best self.

There is also a general pattern in ecology that communities of plants that have more species in them, that are more diverse, tend to be more productive. They’ll produce more biomass or grow to be bigger.

I’m connecting these two ideas: microbes connecting with plants, with the general pattern that more biodiverse plant communities are more productive. I’m trying to understand whether soil microbes are important for that biodiversity/productivity relationship.”

How do you stay motivated working at home?

“It's hard. I have been learning a lot about myself. I benefit from working around people, so it's definitely been a shift. I've been pretty regularly checking in with my advisor and with some of my friends about my progress and that's been helpful to keep me accountable.”

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.