CICOES

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Receives Excellence in Academic Achievement Award

06/07/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa! Lucia has been selected by the faculty of the Environmental Science Program to receive the “Excellence in Academic Achievement Award” for 2022. Lucia’s professors remarked about her active pursuit of undergraduate research experiences, success in obtaining competitive summer research opportunities external to EWU, and experience as a McNair scholar to further prepare herself for her goal of attending graduate school and ultimately becoming a research scientist. Her professors noted that she executed a successful project on aquatic invertebrates at Turnbull Scholar in summer 2020 despite the COVID-19 constraints, and that she is currently in the midst of an exciting project examining the algal symbionts of freshwater sponges using molecular techniques.

Lucia is double majoring in Environmental Science and Biology at EWU. Her research interests include Phycology, marine microbiology, and conservation science in coastal marine ecosystems. In 2021, Lucia participated in an EWU McNair Summer Research Internship under the mentorship of Dr. Camille McNeely, Professor of Biology, where she investigated the relationship between freshwater algal abundance and diversity by analyzing the eutrophication of wetlands in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. She then went on to work with Dr. Jessica Allen to analyze the phylogeny of freshwater sponges across greater Eastern Washington.

Lucia was one of only 13 interns selected for an internship quantifying Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia labiata) using aerial photographs with CICOES (Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies) through the University of Washington under mentor Dr. Julie Keister. Lucia was invited to continue participating in this research.

Lucia will begin attending North Carolina State University’s Doctoral program in Marine, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences in Fall 2022.

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Accepted to NC State PhD Program

06/01/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa! Lucia accepted an offer with a competitive support package from North Carolina State University’s Doctoral program in Marine, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences.

The EWU McNair staff are excited for Lucia and we know she will contribute high quality, impactful research in her graduate program. Click here to read more about Lucia and her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Accepted to Masters Program at University of Miami

02/01/2022 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

Lucia Roussa Accepted to Masters Program at University of Miami Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa! Lucia has been accepted with funding by the Master of Professional Science program at the University of Miami in the Marine Conservation track at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Lucia is double majoring in Environmental Science and Biology. Her research interests include Phycology, marine microbiology, and conservation science in coastal marine ecosystems. In 2021, Lucia participated in an EWU McNair Summer Research Internship under the mentorship of Dr. Camille McNeely, Professor of Biology at EWU. Lucia was also one of only 13 interns selected for an internship quantifying Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia labiata) using aerial photographs with CICOES (Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies) through the University of Washington under mentor Dr. Julie Keister. Lucia was invited to continue participating in this research.

The EWU McNair staff are excited for Lucia and we know she will contribute high quality, impactful research in any graduate program she attends. Click here to read more about Lucia and her research.

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Completes Summer Research Internship

11/18/2021 by Liina Koivula Leave a Comment

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa worked with Dr. Julie Keister of the University of Washington School of Oceanography on her Summer Research Internship project, Measuring from the Sky: Methods to Quantify Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia labiata) Using Aerial Photographs, in collaboration with CICOES. She contributed to research on the effect that climate change is having on jellyfish populations in the Puget Sound ecosystem. Specifically, she worked on the development of a protocol that can be followed by any researcher using image processing to collect data.

The first week of her internship, which began with remote work, included a coding bootcamp. While initially concerned about her ability to master this new skill, Lucy ultimately learned not to be afraid of something new and challenging. She came away confident that she can learn anything – a great lesson to take with her to grad school.

The last week of Lucy’s internship was in person, aboard the research vessel Rachel Carson in Seattle, which required a quarantine before sailing. For six days, Lucy and the research team conducted laboratory and field work involving Moon Jellyfish sampling.

Lucy was one of only 13 interns selected for this project. She credits her participation in the EWU McNair Scholars program for encouraging her to apply for this opportunity, and for assistance along the way with application feedback and time management support.

Lucy hopes her research and leadership in her field will come to have a global impact.

Any biological research expands our database of knowledge we have about how the world works.

Lucy encourages undergraduates interested in STEM research to remember that they are probably more qualified and competitive than they may think, and reminds them not to disqualify themselves before they have applied for an opportunity! She says that getting involved with research was a game-changer that shaped her pursuit of science. Experience in the field and in the lab helped her develop a clearer sense of what kind of work she wants to pursue as a future graduate student and beyond.

EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa Awarded CICOES Internship at UW

04/16/2021 by Jaeger, Corinne 2 Comments

Lucia Roussa Summer Research Acceptance 2021

Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Lucia Roussa! Lucia has been selected as one of 14 interns through the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Sciences (CICOES). For over 40 years CICOES has fostered research collaboration between UW and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). CICOES’s research is a leader in investigations of climate change, ocean acidification, fisheries assessments, and tsunami forecasting. Interns are matched with a research project within one of CICOES nine research themes and work with a CICOES, NOAA, or University of Washington scientist. Lucia has been paired with mentor Dr. Julie Keister, a professor of biological oceanography at the University of Washington. She will work on the project: "Assessing the impact of jellyfish on Puget Sound: determining jellyfish biomass from the air." She will help quantify the size of jellyfish aggregations from aerial photos using computerized image-processing procedures. The goal is to determine seasonal and annual changes in aggregations, and to help the Washington State Department of Ecology determine whether the aerial surveys can provide a “jellyfish index” as an annual indicator of the health of Puget Sound.

Lucia is finishing a dual Environmental Science and Biology major at Eastern Washington University. In 2020, she was selected for the TLES Scholars Award. She works with Dr. Camille McNeely on her project investigating the relationship between freshwater algal abundance and diversity through analyzing the eutrophication of wetlands in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. This week Lucia presented her work at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Lucia's research interests include phycology, marine microbiology, and conservation science in coastal marine ecosystems. In future projects, she would like to explore the various roles that algae play in our world and potential solutions to environmental problems related to algae. Her goal is to obtain a PhD and be a role model for those who feel like STEM fields are limited to those with economic privilege, or those who feel insecure entering a male-dominated field.

Due to the pandemic, Lucia will be completing her internship remotely, with the hope of an end of summer in person conference for the final week of the program if it is safe to do so. In addition to research, Lucia will have the opportunity to attend weekly seminars from special guests on climate change, research in the field, and research skills. Similar to our EWU McNair Summer Research Internship, at the end of her internship, Lucia will create research poster displaying the results of the work and create a three-minute video summarizing the experience. Be sure to check back on the EWU McNair website in the fall to find a link to the video!

The EWU McNair staff are so excited for Lucia.