Throughout my PhD, including 3 summers of intensive fieldwork at Washington University’s Tyson Research Center, I mentored 13 undergraduate and 4 high school students in biology research.
I use peer-reviewed literature to inform my mentoring practices.
Research projects conducted by my students have produced 13 research posters, 4 honors theses, and 2 authorships on peer-reviewed papers (more currently in prep!).
Mentored Student Research Posters (Washington University Undergraduate Research Symposia)
April 12, 2019
Dutta M, Wright SJ & Olsen KM. “Cyanogenic glucoside induction across an environmental gradient in white clover (Trifolium repens).”
Mahmoud A, Wright S, Goad D & Olsen K. "Identifying locally adaptive SNPs in white clover using environmental association analysis (EAA)."
October 27, 2018
Oza A, Wright SJ & Olsen KM. “The contributions of gene copy number variation to drought tolerance in white clover (Trifolium repens).”
April 13, 2018
Mahmoud A, Beliz J, Olsen KM & Johnson M. “Urban-to-rural trends in white clover cyanogenesis across St. Louis.”
October 21, 2017
Oza A, Wright SJ & Olsen KM. “The contributions of gene copy number variation to drought tolerance in white clover (Trifolium repens).”
Alvarado B, Wright S & Olsen K. “The evolution of chemical defense in white clover: when and where does cyanogenesis matter most?”
Dutta M, Wright S & Olsen K. “Buffering against heat, drought, and fungus in white clover: does cyanogenesis play a role?”
Mahmoud A, Gremaud A, Wright S & Olsen K. “Insect diversity survey of white clover in wild vs cultivated environments.”
Myers SR, Wright SJ & Olsen KM. “Ecological drivers of local adaptation in white clover: herbivores or winter temperatures?”
Beliz J, Kosola E, Wright S & Olsen K. “Wild sampling in white clover informs interpretations of controlled field experiment data: herbivory and soil moisture.”
October 29, 2016
Ties S, Young L, Wright SJ & Olsen KM. “Cyanogenesis and local adaptation in early life stages of white clover (Trifolium repens).”
April 9, 2016
Cui Zhou D, Wright SJ & Olsen KM. “Gene copy number variation and molecular mechanisms of local climatic adaptation in white clover.”
October 10, 2015
Cui Zhou D, Wright SJ & Olsen KM. “Gene copy number variation and molecular mechanisms of local climatic adaptation in white clover.”
Dutta, M. (25 March 2019). Cyanogenic glucoside induction across an environmental gradient in white clover (Trifolium repens L.).
Oza, A. (21 March 2018). The contributions of gene copy number variation to drought adaptation in white clover (Trifolium repens L.).
Cui Zhou, D. (4 April 2016). Local adaptation and population history in the genus Trifolium.
Thesis mentor (statistics and writing)
Lee, A. (1 April 2019). Investigating the role of seed fatty acids in germination for the emerging biofuel crop, Camelina sativa.
Student Feedback
"Thank you for being such a wonderful mentor and for making my summer at Tyson so positive and memorable. It's obvious how much time and effort you put in to help us succeed as a team and as individuals, and I'm truly grateful for that. Tyson and this project specifically have really sparked my interest in research!"
"I spent a lot of time thinking about clover today, and I just wanted to say thank you again for making our experience so awesome this summer. I was working on my biochemistry term paper...and about a whole page of my paper is about cyanogenesis. It really didn't feel like work because I find the topic so interesting. So thanks for sharing your passion with us!"
"Sara was always was willing to meet as often as possible, set aside time from her project to help me with mine, whether it be talking through it, or researching past literature, or coming up with ideas for the future/analysis."
"The R demo was really great! I learned so much about that. You were a great resource any time we had questions or were feeling stuck. You helped me when I felt uncertain about how to progress."
"You helped us make valuable connections and definitely helped me out, given my inexperience working in a real research environment. I feel like I have a much better understanding of what the research field is like now. Taking us to see a PhD defense was a great experience to see what our future could look like."
Special thanks to Susan Flowers, Kim Medley, and Washington University's Tyson Research Center for their amazing undergraduate, TERF, and SIFT programs. I was given invaluable opportunities to practice mentoring in a vibrant research community, with excellent facilities!
Rowan University · Department of Biological Sciences · 201 Mullica Hill Road · Glassboro, NJ 08028