Brianna Henry

Upon discovering I'm a biologist (and one that studies insects no less!), the people I meet often say something to the tune of "Glad someone's doing that, but I could never!". To me, though, I have the most exciting job in the world. I get to spend my days thinking about the fantastic complexities of the world around us, and how easily they can be thrown off course by the disturbances we add to that balanced environment. Each day, whether wading around in the mucky wetlands my insects call home, identifying them back in the lab, or even analyzing data and water samples, I get closer and closer to the answers to the questions we ask- and then we come up with some more.

I've been working on research projects (first with amphibians, then with crayfish, and now aquatic insects) since my freshman year as a biology major at Clarion University in Pennsylvania. When I graduated is 2015, I left my east coast home to join the biology department at the University of South Dakota, where I could study agricultural influences on aquatic systems where these issues are most prevalent. I was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to sponsor me through my studies at USD, on the basis of the research I'm currently working on.

I'm in the second year of my master's degree, and plan to continue asking questions about how the environment changes with humans in it for a long time. Once I graduate, I hope to take a state or federal job doing aquatic research for a year or two before going on to get my PhD.

October 2016