S-STEM/TRAIN Scholar Kimberly Merrill's Blog

This is Part One of my research proposal, which contains a brief, background information of my topic.  Yersinia pestis doesn’t sound any alarms when referred to in binomial nomenclature. However, this bacterium causes a severe and fatal illness with a more well-known, negatively connotated name: Plague. Rightfully so, Yersinia pestis has caused the deaths of millions of humans worldwide over the course of its existence. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 50 million deaths in Europe alone were caused by Plague in the Middle Ages.    Bubonic Plague, Pneumonic Plague, and Septicemic Plague are the three different manifestations of the infection. Transmissions vary between the three illnesses. Bubonic Plague comprises 80% of all cases of Plague (CDC, 2019). It is primarily transmitted via bites from flea carriers that typically survive on various mammal hosts, a majority of which are rodents (CDC, 2019). When Plague develops in Pneumonic form, it is...

 As I approach developing questions about Yersinia pestis , I found a necessity to gather as much background information about the microbe as possible. This past week has consisted of numerous articles, journals, and videos that address various aspects of the bacteria. For the sake of organization, I would like to present some of the information I found on a scale of small to large; in relativity to observable material.  1.    Microbiological and genetic composition: As you can see from the picture below it is rod-shaped. There are no visible extensions that make it motile. I found a great paper that further explains its virulence, specific plasmids, and structurally gram-negative cell well encoded by chromosomal genes (Butler M.D., 1). It is an anaerobic organism. I have reached out to a professor to help me better understand the role of phagocytes and antigens. Hopefully from there, I can develop questions pertaining to structural or chromosomal composition and th...

My first step for this semester’s research project was simply to search for topics in my interest areas. Unfortunately, since I am a new STEM scholar, I have numerous interest areas. I’m hoping that this is a normal occurrence for beginners. In order to narrow my scope, I chose to stick in the relative area of ecology. I started by looking at different ecological issues and moved on to wildlife epidemiology. Once, I compiled a list of important and relevant problems, I gathered more information about each and created a compilation of summaries or overviews. Although I started with 10+ topics, these are the top two that made the cut: The monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) population has drastically reduced in size over the last two decades. Research suggests a need for increased milkweed habitats. More research is necessary to understand the effects of climate change on migratory patterns. This video from National Geographic is twelve years old. It mentions the monarch butterfly p...