Nicole Schrad: Graduate Student
Lab / Organization: Saltikov lab – UCSC
I was a rotation student my fellowship year. I rotated through the Saltikov lab which studied environmental microbiology, the Yildiz lab which studied pathogenesis, and the Lowe lab that does tRNA bioinformatic research. I ended up choosing Chad Saltikov’s lab where I began my thesis research on how managed aquifer recharge sites can be optimized to promote pollutant removal by microbes. Currently, I am combining geochemistry and bioinformatics to gain an understanding of how microbial metabolism can change in different conditions. I love how my research shows that bacteria can be useful agents in environmental remediation. The general perception is bacteria are bad, so I really enjoying sharing the positive benefits of microbes with my friends and family. For the future, I am interested in an industry career that tries to work on solutions to environmental problems using bacteria (eg. wastewater treatment, superfund site clean up, etc.).