Michael Carlo

Michael Carlo

May 06, 2016

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Introducing Michael Carlo

Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down. And I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you how I became a grad student in his 30s losing his hair.

...sorry, couldn't help myself! But I would like to take the time to tell you my own story about how I ended up a Ph.D. student working in thermal ecology, hoping to one day hold a research professorship position at a university with a lab of my own. So, here is a version of a story I wrote for my National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. I hope it helps you understand my personal motivation that drives my interests in research. And if you feel inspired, please consider supporting this project by donating or sharing this site with others.

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From mixing drinks at a college bar to hiking through backwoods in the sweltering summer heat of the Deep South in search of lizards, my path to research science has not been a traditional one. After high school, I took off to college at full speed with my family cheering me on. I entered the engineering program at the University of Virginia with bright eyes and bushy tail, ready to chase down a career in biomedical engineering. But I soon found despite such enthusiasm, a naïve young man can falter under the conflicting academic and social pressures of college life. I managed my time poorly and my grades suffered, so I had to leave the program after a disappointing first year.

I then took up work at a local bar. At that Margaritaville-inspired tavern, I learned many life skills I needed to get me where I am today. I worked my way up from bartender to middle management, learning the value of outstanding work ethic and how to relate to people from all walks of life. With an enthusiastic personality and drive to succeed, I honed my natural abilities as a leader within a team. These skills make me a better researcher and teacher, and will continue to help in my graduate studies and career.

While working at the restaurant, I never lost my enthusiasm for science. Despite my tribulations in the engineering program, I remembered how much I enjoyed the biology courses I took. During those initial struggles as an undergraduate, my biology classes were the bright light at the end of a dark tunnel; they gave me inspiration when motivation was often difficult to summon. Recalling that inspiration, I recommitted myself to an education in research science. I entered a community college program designed to help motivated students transfer to four-year universities, and I soon rekindled my scientific ambitions. The choice to return to science put me on a path that has taken me from a young man with a burgeoning interest in life sciences to the rising professional I am today. I will continue on that path to my goal of a research professorship with a lab of my own.

Research opportunities were limited in community college, so I created my own with an independent stream ecology project. I developed a field survey of macroinvertebrates to analyze stream quality, teaching myself research methods along the way. I improved my understanding of ecological concepts, such as the impacts of biodiversity on community dynamics. The most motivating experience came when I had the opportunity to work with an established scientist. I found an unusual crayfish at one of my sites, so I contacted an expert at Ohio State. After some discussion, and a brief but exciting mention of the possibility of a novel species, we determined it was a hybrid of native and invasive species. No new species was going to be named after me, but it was a great experience as a budding research scientist. My first research experience motivated me to keep pursuing my goals as I transferred to a four-year college.

The next two years were instrumental to my future as I was introduced to the wonderful world of organismal biology. I transferred to the University of Mary Washington and joined Dr. Andrew Dolby’s lab working to evaluate biomarkers of the avian stress response. My honors thesis compared the sensitivities of stress indicators to stress caused by the handling of birds in field research. I spent many winter mornings in the dim light of dawn waiting for Tufted titmice to fly into my mist nets and fighting off the bitter cold for a few drops of blood. That may sound like the last thing an undergrad wants to do over winter break, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I learned the patience, knowledge, and care necessary for quality research, and I discovered my love of fieldwork. During that project, I reaped the seeds of scientific inquiry sewn during community college into captive enthusiasm for biology research. I learned invaluable skills that I now use in my dissertation research on Eastern fence lizards.

During a break in my thesis research, I worked with Dr. Dolby on a project that gave me experience in communicating science to policymakers and the public. A community in Northern Virginia was concerned about the impacts of a model plane airfield on local wildlife and asked us to investigate. We took blood samples from birds in the area and evaluated their stress levels using techniques developed for my thesis. After comparing the conditions of birds during different levels of airfield activity, we reported to the amateur aviators and local policymakers that the model planes were not harming the local birds—good news for the community and the birds! I am very grateful for that experience, even with a 3am wake-up call to make it to our field sites before sunrise. I improved my research techniques and gained insight into the need to maintain relationships between researchers and non-scientific community members.

My time in undergraduate research was invaluable to my goals as a scientist. I did quality research that led to several presentations and publications before I graduated at the top of my major. I received the distinction of having my honors thesis published in a research journal to represent my school. I am also a coauthor on a publication from our team’s research that provides important information about stress measurement tools. My experiences inspired me as a scientist, solidifying my decision to pursue a career in research and academia.

I am now a Ph.D. student at Clemson University working with Dr. Mike Sears to examine the organismal response to climate change. In my first year, I planned a common garden experiment to assess the capacity for acclimation to climate warming, using the Eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) as a model system. The project incorporated transcriptomics with hatchling physiology to investigate the mechanisms behind acclimation. Unforeseen circumstances delayed the project past the start of the breeding season. I thought my first project was doomed. Yet, with the guidance of my advisor, I redesigned the experiment to attack the question from a different angle. I reared S. undulatus eggs under different thermal regimes to examine the effects of warming in the nest. The results revealed negative effects of high nest temperatures on embryo physiology and survivorship, suggesting that embryo success under climate warming will rely heavily on maternal nesting behavior. So, now I am investigating the capacity for S. undulatus females to modify nesting behavior in response to climate change.

My first graduate research experience was more than I expected. While consulting colleagues at Arizona State, I learned they were discussing collaborating with my advisor to sequence the genome of S. undulatus. They needed gravid females for the project, and I happened to have several I had caught before my project was delayed. I happily offered my part in the collaboration. As a first-year Ph.D. student, I was given the opportunity to contribute (even in small part) to the second lizard genome to be sequenced. It was an opportunity that has led to collaboration with researchers across the nation, and that will help shape my young career. Those experiences motivated me to master skills from areas of math, physics, computer science, ecology, physiology, thermal biology, and evolutionary biology—an integrative skill set that will help me achieve my goal of a research professorship with a lab of my own.

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About This Project

The decision of where to nest is perhaps the greatest one a lizard can make for her offspring. Many lizards dig nests in open, sunny spots because warm temperatures help lizard embryos grow and survive. However, climate warming is raising temperatures at those nest sites to the point they may soon become harmful and even lethal to lizard embryos. This project investigates whether lizards can choose shadier, cooler places to nest, which could buffer offspring from effects of climate change.

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