Unlike most undergraduate students who go to the Colorado River during the summer to camp or enjoy whitewater rafting, Alexandra Gutierrez, a biology major at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), spent much of that time processing soil samples harvested in the shallows of the river in search of Archaea microorganisms.
Funded by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Robert Noyce Scholars and the STEM Teacher and Research (STAR) programs, Gutierrez—an avid environmentalist—was tasked with searching for more diverse families of the microbe during her internship at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), along with working on campus at Stanford in the Green Earth Sciences Laboratory.
“They had us looking through soil recently brought to the surface by the water for specimens they have little information about. The scientists had already done some research on Archaeas, but we were trying to find more information on microbe families, and isolate DNA from samples of cultures that they had already collected from the river basin,” said Gutierrez. “It’s a good feeling to help advance their work, and since we [Southern California] get a lot of our water from the basin, it was rewarding in that way, too.”
The microbes we were studying are among the very first ever found, and they tell us about the beginning of the Earth. –Alexander Gutierrez
The nine-week STAR program provides K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers with opportunities to do hands-on research while helping them translate their research experience into classroom practice. STAR is offered to undergraduates on a teaching path, STEM undergraduates seriously considering a career in teaching, and credential candidates aspiring to work with cutting edge researchers.
“The microbes we were studying are among the very first ever found, and they tell us about the beginning of the Earth. Microbes teach us what helps life survive—what is currently forming, and possibly what formed before humans inhabited those regions,” said Gutierrez, who received a $6,500 stipend to offset the cost of living while completing her research.
Archaea (a domain and kingdom of single-celled microorganisms) are found in “extreme habitats,” and are difficult to grow in a laboratory, according to Gutierrez.
“That’s the goal, to grow them in the lab and have them survive so they can be studied. It was the hardest part of the research—keeping them alive,” she said. “I tested them twice a week to see if there was nitrate activity, and if there was I ran a PCR {polymerase chain reaction} test. If it didn’t show anything, I did DNA isolation to see if something showed up. And if that didn’t work, I tested it to make sure it was Archaea and not bacteria.”
The research Gutierrez and the scientists at SLAC are conducting on Archaea will provide vital information regarding California’s water supply, and how buildings and human presence impact natural resources, and how it could in the future. Her environmental data also offers a better understanding of how to prepare or help preserve natural resources.
Passionate about teaching, Gutierrez works with special education students during the day when back home. She also teaches an after school class at Environmental Charter Middle School in Inglewood through the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program. The MESA program is run the University of Southern California and provides academic support to students with educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.
After completing the SLAC experience, Gutierrez was required to create a lesson plan, and she will present a research poster about her work is September 2017 at the NASA Ames Research Center. She will earn her bachelor’s degree in biology in spring 2018, and looks forward to teaching when she completes her credential, but her passion for research will never subside.
“My goal is to eventually teach biology at a high school, and continue doing research in the summer,” she said. “Helping the environment is a priority for me, and research is one of the best ways I can contribute.”
