One of UQ’s summer research scholars has had her work published in the prestigious PLoS journal, a rare achievement for an undergraduate student.
Samford student Sheree Osborne spent a year in Dr Karyn Johnson’s lab in the School of Biological Sciences, as part of her 3rd year Advanced Studies Program.
Her research focused on understanding how insects controlled virus infection.
Ms Osborne’s project led her to some very interesting results, which she followed up on with a UQ Summer Research Scholarship following completion of her degree and those results have now been published in a peer reviewed journal.
“Our lab has recently found that infection of insects with a bacteria called Wolbachia protects them from viruses," Ms Osborne said.
I was able to show that there is variation in the effect the bacteria has on the viruses, which will help us investigate the mechanism which the bacteria uses to protect the insect."
Dr Johnson said the results were important because they may help us to understand how Wolbachia impact the transmission of virus diseases of animals and plants in nature.
Ms Osborne said she became interested in following a research career in science after attending small, informal seminars given by researchers who would talk about their science, careers and lives.
“It was great being exposed to such a wide variety of science and to be given a clearer idea of what research was going on around the University. These seminars also provided the opportunity to ask questions about life as a scientist,” Ms Osborne said.
“It is really important to determine if you enjoy lab work early in your undergrad career. Carrying out research projects also helped provide a better context for my coursework, which allowed me to get more out of my degree.”
After taking a well-deserved break to travel to Europe, Sheree has now returned to UQ to undertake an Honours project in Dr Johnson’s lab.
During this project she will extend her research studies to investigate what determines whether the bacteria protects flies against virus infection.
Media: Dr Karyn Johnson (+61 7 3365 1358) or Tracey Franchi, School of Biological Sciences Communications Manager (+61 7 3365 4831).
