I am currently an undergraduate student finishing my BS in biomedical sciences from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and will be transitioning to a graduate student in microbiology this fall. My research interests are in bioinformatics based analysis of genomes and microbiomes, molecular biology, and viral discovery and host interactions. I spearheaded the first leg of this experiment by being awarded a REACH grant to begin the initial analysis of the squid aquacultural microbiome. My findings suggested there was a profound shift in microbial communities of an unproductive cohort of squid along with a few potential pathogens. These findings are where the new undergraduate students will be working together to shed light on the mysteries of this study.